The Ironic Things in Life
by AuraMistress
Summary: Squall thinks Rinoa's a blind bat and Rinoa thinks Squall's an arrogant jerk. They meet in the most disagreeable situation and hate everything about eachother, but is there really more to it than meets the eye?
1. The New Flatmate

**The Ironic Things in Life**

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own Final Fantasy 8, dammit!**

---

Rinoa Heartilly glanced lazily around the room, not wanting to get out of bed.

"Rinoa!" Quistis shouted, "Get up, you have to get ready for work!"

"Maybe tomorrow," Rinoa replied, closing her eyes again.

"Rinoa Julia Heartilly, you better get out of bed right now before I have to Ultima your ass into the bathroom!" Quistis yelled.

Rinoa groaned, and sat up. Quistis Trepe could be such a pain. Her mother-like attitude tended to get on everyone's nerves.

"Selphie, will you stop hogging the shower!" Quistis yelled, moving onto their other room mate.

Rinoa sighed, and grabbed her clothes before heading out of her room only to collide with Selphie, the whirlwind.

"OW!" both girls exclaimed, crashing to the floor with two simultaneous thuds.

Quistis hovered over the both of them disapprovingly, tutting loudly and very irritatingly.

"Honestly, Selphie," Quistis lectured, "how many times do I have to tell you not to run around the house?"

Selphie Tilmitt however was clearly not listening. Whenever Quistis started on one of her sermons, Selphie tended to drift away into a dream-like state which she liked to call "groove land".

Rinoa giggled and hurried to her feet. She could tell Quistis wasn't in a very good mood that day, so she rushed into the bathroom without another word.

-----

When she came out, she could tell that something wasn't right. Quistis was sitting on the lounge, a frown on her face and even Selphie looked a little upset.

"Is something wrong?" Rinoa ventured to ask.

Selphie looked up.

"Rin-Rin, it's terrible!" the 5 foot hurricane exclaimed, "We got an eviction notice from Biggs!"

Rinoa's insides churned.

"What for?" she asked.

Quistis looked up.

"We didn't pay last week's rent."

Rinoa sighed. She had known that was the reason why greedy Biggs was kicking them out.

"We're just not raising enough money to afford to live in an apartment like this," Quistis said.

"But we did put up an advertisement looking for another flatmate," Selphie protested.

"I'm taking her interview today," Quistis said, "Hopefully she'll be alright. We really can't afford to be choosy anymore. We'll have to live with whoever wants to move in."

"How long do we have?" Rinoa asked.

"We have to get the entire rent in by the end of this week or Biggs' kicking us out for good," Quistis said.

-----

On the way to work, Rinoa stopped to look into the window of a bridal shop. She loved to look at the wedding dresses, hoping that one day she would be able to afford one. However, the 20 year old still hadn't found true love so she wasn't in a hurry.

Rinoahurried to the bus stand, hoping that she wouldn't miss her bus. As she sprinted to the bus stand at last, she slammed into something that she thought was a concrete wall.

"Watch where you're going," a male with slate blue eyes muttered, before walking off with his hands in his pockets.

Rinoa scowled at the back of his dark head, picked up her bag and rushed onto the bus as it arrived. She hoped she wouldn't be late for work.

Rinoa worked at the Galbadia community centre where she assisted children who would go there to do activities and sit through some classes at the centre. Prisoners would also go there to do community service. Rinoa didn't get paid much for it but she enjoyed looking after the children.

Quistis Trepe was an instructor at a school called Galbadia Garden. She was previously from Balamb Garden but had been transferred to Galbadia as a promotion. In Galbadia she had become acquainted with Rinoa who she had met at the Galbadia community centre when she had taken a group of children there.

Selphie was from Trabia, and had moved to Galbadia in search of a better career and possibly a better lifestyle. She worked at a local music store but kept getting her pay check halved because she was always involved in some accident with her ending up on top of the CD's. She had met Rinoa after spilling her drink on her.

The three of them were completely different, but they had quickly become good friends. Now their lives were about to change with the arrival of their new room mate.

-----

"Morning, Rinoa," the girl behind the desk said.

"Morning, Jessie."

Rinoa slammed her bag down onto the front counter and joined Jessie behind it.

Jessie raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong with you?"

Rinoa sighed.

"Some moron knocked me over on the way to work, and I just noticed that my make up kit got smashed."

"Awe, that sucks. Not your 'Ellone' label make up kit?"

"Bingo."

"But it was so expensive."

Rinoa shrugged.

"If I ever see that guy again, I swear I'll squash him into the ground."

Jessie grinned.

"Was he cute?"

Rinoa glared at her.

"For god's sake, is that the only thing you think about?"

Jessie smiled cheekily and threw a roll of sticky tape at Rinoa, so that she could try and fix her make up kit.

The community centre's doors opened, and Rinoa glanced up from her clumsy sticky taping to meet the eyes of a 6 foot blonde.

Jessie's jaw dropped and she literally drooled.

The blonde sauntered up to the counter and leaned against it, his eyes cruising over Rinoa and Jessie.

"Ye-Yes? Can I help you?" Jessie stuttered.

"I'm here for my 100 hours of community service," he responded, flatly.

"Your um, name?"

"Seifer Almasy."

"Um, ok Seifer. You can go ahead and trim the trees at the back and then rake up the leaves."

Seifer sneered and made his way down the hall and out the back door.

Jessie sighed dreamily.

"Wasn't he just so hot?"

"He's a prisoner. Most probably a murderer. I can't believe you're attracted to a convict."

"Rinoa, I can't believe that you don't think he's hot."

Rinoa rolled her eyes and continued to stick pieces of her make up kit together.

-----

Rinoa opened the door to their apartment and was just about to tiptoe into the bathroom, when she heard loud voices coming from the lounge room. Curious, she went into the lounge room and was met with a strange sight.

Quistis was red in the face, and Selphie looked excited.

"No, I'm afraid we can't let you be our room mate," Quistis said.

At first Rinoa couldn't see who she was talking to, and then finally she saw the person standing near the balcony.

"But why?" the person asked.

Rinoa couldn't believe that she was hearing a male's voice.

"In any other circumstance it would've been alright, but the three of us are girls and you're a guy," Quistis stated the obvious.

"Oh come on, Quisty," Selphie whined, "He seems to be decent looking."

"I thought _he_ was a _she_," Quistis said, "How was I supposed to know that "Zell" is a guy's name?"

The guy turned around. He had spiky blonde hair and was wearing baggy jeans with a black jacket.

"Come on, please," he begged, "I really need a place to stay. I just came from Balamb the other day and I can't find anywhere to stay. I've been at the hotel for all this time but I can't stay there forever."

Quistis' face softened.

"Mr Dincht, I just don't see how this will work out," she said, "I'm very sorry."

Zell's face fell and he balled up his fists.

Rinoa stepped forward.

"Quistis, you yourself said that we can't afford to be choosy," she said, "And we'll never find another room mate in time. Can't we just see how it goes for a month?"

Quistis surveyed Rinoa, and Selphie nodded in approval when Quistis glanced at her.

"Alright, Mr Dincht," she said, heaving a sigh, "Welcome to our humble abode."

Selphie and Rinoa rolled their eyes at Quistis' clichéd remark.

-----

A month passed, and Quistis couldn't find any major faults in Zell. He got on especially well with Selphie, as they had a similar hyper personality. But Zell turned out to be a really good friend to all the three girls and after a while it seemed as if they had all known eachother forever.

"Zell!" Selphie cried, chasing him around the room with a broom.

Zell jumped over the sofa and ran into his room, locking the door behind him.

"Zell!" Selphie screeched, banging on the door, "You IDIOT! Gimme back my burger!"

Quistis surveyed Selphie over the top of her glasses, looking unimpressed.

"Selphie Tilmitt, do you mind? I'm trying to read a very sentimental novel here," she said.

Selphie pouted.

"But Zellie took, no, _stole_ my hamburger!"

Quistis sighed.

"Can't you two sit still for one second?"

Selphie, being distracted by Quistis, failed to notice Zell sneaking out of his room.

No one bothered to tell her until she noticed a few seconds later herself.

"ZELL!" she yelled, chasing him out of the apartment and waving her broom around like a mutated witch.

Rinoa chuckled and went back to painting her toenails.

"Did Zell tell you?" Quistis asked.

Rinoa glanced up.

"Tell me what…?"

"You know how he works at that T-Board shop…? Well the shop's hosting an anniversary tomorrow at the Galbadian Hotel and Zell's invited us."

"Well, I guess if we got back early enough then it'd be alright."

Quistis nodded.

"I'm not too sure that I want to go, though."

"Oh come on Quisty, you hardly ever go anywhere. You're always cooped up at home reading or marking exam papers."

"Rinoa, that's what my life is supposed to be like. An instructor isn't supposed to go out and have fun."

Rinoa rolled her eyes.

"Oh puh-lease, I would've at least accepted you saying that you're a shitty dancer. Now you have to come."

Quistis laughed.

"Well, I guess it'd be…"

"AH HA!" Selphie could be heard shouting.

Selphie and Zell had re-entered the apartment, and she had finally gotten a hold of Zell. The both of them stumbled into the lounge room, as Selphie aimed punches and kicks at Zell who she had gripped tightly around the neck.

"OUCH!" Zell cried, "Selphie would you….OUCH!"

The both of them collapsed onto the glass coffee table, which gave way and shattered, including Quistis' prized antique vase.

Quistis flinched, and a vein throbbed in her neck. There was a deadly silence in which no one dared to breathe. Quistis stood up slowly.

Rinoa quickly intercepted, sensing the danger ahead.

"Quisty, I'm sure we'll be able to fix…"

"SELPHIE TILMITT, ZELL DINCHT! I WILL CURSE YOU INTO NEXT YEAR!"

-----

Fortunately the next night Quistis was in better spirits, after having cast a series of Zombie magic on Zell and Selphie, who resembled mindless chicken wings afterwards.

The four of them walked towards the Galbadian Hotel at a quick pace, as Zell complained that they were already late.

Actually it had been Selphie's fault; she had somehow miraculously managed to get her short hair stuck in the hair dryer.

"Here we are," Zell said, stopping outside the magnificent Galbadian hotel.

"YAY!" Selphie exclaimed, running through the seemingly open door.

CLUNK

"Oh my god, Selphie are you ok?" Quistis said, hurrying to Selphie's side.

Selphie stared up at Quistis, her eyes unfocussed.

"Is it morning already?" she asked, confused.

Quistis tutted, and together she and Zell helped Selphie to her feet.

"Is the lil' cowgirl awright?" a tall guy, with a strong western Galbadian accent, questioned.

Zell shrugged.

"Let's just get her inside first," Quistis suggested.

Quistis and Zell helped Selphie through the door, as the guy, who had a long ponytail and was wearing a cowboy hat, held it open.

The guy looked towards Rinoa's back.

"Hey Squall, you coming or not?"

Rinoa of course would have helped Selphie in any other situation, but she had been far too busy staring into a pair of slate blue eyes that stared just as coldly back at her.

* * *

**A/N:** Ok, I've done my part; now it's up to you guys to read and review. :) 


	2. More Broken Vases

**The Ironic Things in Life**

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned Final Fantasy 8, but I don't!**

---

"Squall?" the cowboy asked again.

The guy with the slate blue eyes was of course Squall.

"I know the little lady's cute, but you can ogle at her inside," the cowboy teased.

Squall made a noise similar to an angry cat, and pushed his way inside. Rinoa followed, feeling extremely angry at his attitude.

"He's a strange guy. That's the first time I've ever seen him stare at a girl like that."

Rinoa realised that the cowboy was walking with her, so she tried to put an interested look onto her face.

"Really?" she managed to say, through gritted teeth.

"Good to know our Squall's noticing fine ladies such as you."

"Squall?" Rinoa wondered out loud, "Why have I heard that name before?"

The cowboy laughed.

"Of course you've heard that name before. He's…"

"Rinoa! Over here!"

Zell was waving his arms furiously in Rinoa's direction.

"Looks like your friends are waiting for you, so I'll see ya later," the cowboy said with a wink, before heading off to join a group of people.

Rinoa grimaced as she reached her friends and saw that Selphie had a dark bruise on her forehead,

"Are you alright, Selphie?"

Selphie nodded, not seeming to care that she had just knocked herself out by running into a glass door.

"Let's go dance, Zellie," she said, enthusiastically.

Zell didn't seem to notice that Selphie was talking to him, until she pulled at his spiky hair.

"What were you looking at?" Selphie wanted to know.

"N-nothing," Zell replied, turning red.

Selphie shrugged, and then grabbed his arm, pulling him onto the dance floor.

Quistis shook her head disapprovingly.

"She should really rest."

Rinoa took a seat beside the 21 year old instructor.

"Well, that's Selphie for you. She can never sit still."

Selphie's favourite song was currently playing.

'_They did the mash, they did the monster mash. The monster mash, it was a graveyard smash. They did the mash, it caught on in a flash.'_

Selphie was doing the craziest dance moves that anyone had ever seen, and Zell took several steps away from her just in case she disintegrated.

Everyone was now watching Selphie's antics with amusement. One of the onlookers was the guy with the cowboy hat.

"She's like a little fire cracker," he commented.

Squall scowled as his friend studied the short woman who was hopping around like a flightless dodo.

'_They did the mash, they did the monster mash.'_

"Do you think that blonde guy's her boyfriend?" the cowboy asked.

"Does it look like I care?" Squall muttered, staring over at the blonde guy who was now backing away from the woman as if she might explode.

"Awright, let's do this," the cowboy said.

Squall stared at him, wondering what he was up to.

Irvine took his long coat off and strode onto the dance floor to join the young woman.

Squall rolled his eyes, and leaned back on the chair. His eyes fell on the young woman sitting across the room. She had ebony hair, dark eyes and porcelain skin. Right now she was studying him intensely.

The young woman quickly looked away when she saw that he had glanced in her direction.

Squall scowled again and continued to watch his friend dancing with the tiny brunette.

-----

"Is it just me," Quistis said, "or is that cowboy singing something bizarre?"

Only minutes ago, the cowboy from earlier on had joined Selphie as "Blame it on the Boogie" began to play.

"No, you're right," Zell said joining the two girls, "He's singing, 'Bang, don't blame it on the sunshine. Bang, bang, don't blame it on the moonlight. Bang, blame it on the boogie.'"

Quistis raised a perfect eyebrow.

"Er…well, he seems um, interesting, right Rinoa?"

Rinoa was too busy staring at Squall to reply.

Zell smirked.

"Our Rinoa has other priorities."

Unfortunately Rinoa heard Zell's remark, and furiously turned on him.

"I'll have you know Zell Dincht that a month ago, because of that _imbecile_, my expensive 'Ellone' kit got smashed, and is unfixable!"

Zell leaped back in fright.

"I-I…"

"Exactly! So before I go and bite his head off, I'd like some time to observe his weak points!"

Rinoa stormed off, leaving Quistis and Zell to stare after her.

"Was it very expensive?" Zell asked, weakly.

"5,000 Gil," Quistis responded, calmly taking a sip of her cocktail.

-----

Rinoa Heartilly strode over to Squall furiously.

"Hurry up and apologise so that I can go back to my friends and enjoy my cocktail."

Squall stared up at her blankly.

"Apologise for what?"

"You know exactly what for!"

"I'm afraid I don't."

"Yes, you do!"

"Settle down, there's no need to create a fuss."

"You knocked me over last month! You smashed my 'Ellone' make up kit! Do you know how expensive those things are! Do you know how many months it took me to raise the money to buy it!"

Squall studied the angry young woman, wondering how long she could go on shouting for.

"Hello! Are you even listening! Don't even try and pull a 'groove land' on me! I live with Selphie Tilmitt!"

Squall was highly amused. She was babbling now, saying insane things that made no sense.

"You stupid idiot!"

Rinoa was breathing hard now, her ivory skin flushed.

Squall slowly got to his feet.

"Even if I did know what you were talking about, I still wouldn't apologise because you were too blind to see where you were going."

Rinoa stared at him in disbelief. She had never met such an arrogant guy in her entire life.

"You were the one who knocked me over!" she insisted.

Squall shrugged.

"Your loss."

Rinoa seethed with rage, detesting everything about the young man standing before her.

"Y-you incompetent nincompoop!" she shouted.

Several people nearby looked curiously in their direction.

Squall ran a hand through his messy brown hair, and jammed a hand in his pocket, producing his wallet.

"Look, do you want me to pay for the stupid thing?"

Rinoa looked insulted.

"I don't need your charity! I'm not a beggar!"

Squall sighed.

"You could've fooled me."

Rinoa couldn't believe her ears. This young man was making a fool out of her. She hated everything about him; his uncaring manner, his obnoxious smirk and even his casual stance.

"You filthy, horrid, mali…"

"Ok, Rin that's enough alcohol for you," Quistis said, pulling Rinoa away from Squall.

"Quistis…what're you…? I haven't finished with him!" Rinoa argued.

"Rinoa, let it go. Everyone's staring," Quistis reasoned.

"DON'T THINK THAT YOU'VE HEARD THE LAST OF ME!" Rinoa managed to say, before Quistis pulled her out of the hotel.

-----

The next day Rinoa was in a terrible mood. She stayed in her room all morning and stuck a sign on her door saying, 'Don't disturb me unless that jerk dies'.

Zell, who had already been at the receiving end of one Rinoa's outbursts, steered clear of her room.

Quistis, Zell and Selphie sat around the kitchen table, eating their breakfast and discussing the events of the previous night.

"So Selphie, who was that guy you were dancing with?" Zell asked, scratching his back with a fork.

Quistis smacked him across the head sharply, and wrestled the fork out of his hand.

"We do not use kitchen utensils as scratching posts, Zell!" she snapped.

Zell turned red and looked around at Selphie, waiting for her answer.

"I never got his name. We had to leave before I could," Selphie replied.

"Rinoa really lost it, huh?" Zell commented, as Quistis unrolled the morning paper.

"That guy must've been a pig! No one can ever make Rinoa lose her temper like that," Selphie said, crunching into her apple and sending drops of apple juice flying over Zell's face.

"Rin's about to lose her temper even more," Quistis said in a quiet voice.

"Whaddya mean?" Zell asked, messily buttering his toast.

Quistis turned the newspaper around. On the front page was a picture of Rinoa yelling at Squall.

Selphie's eyes widened and she absently flung her apple core in Zell's direction. Zell was too shocked to dodge the apple, and it hit him on the head.

"Why would Rinoa be in the paper?" he asked, awakening from his stupor.

Quistis read aloud.

"Last night at a party hosted by the famous T-board shop 'Zantetsuken', Squall Leonhart was harassed by an unknown young woman. Leonhart is of course the son of Laguna Loire, President of Esthar, and is also the star of the upcoming movie "The Sorceress War". The reason behind the young lady's attack was unknown but Leonhart was seen offering her his wallet. The young lady is said to be an enraged lover or prostitute of some sort."

Zell's jaw dropped.

"Wh-what!"

Selphie looked like she was about to faint.

"Oh my god, Rinoa's going to…"

Quistis nodded in agreement.

"I know."

"Well, should we tell her?" Zell asked.

Quistis' lips tightened, and she nodded.

"But we should do it very care…"

"RIN-RIN!" Selphie shouted, grabbing the newspaper off the table and racing towards Rinoa's room, "LOOKIE WHAT'S IN THE PAPER ABOUT YOU!"

Quistis and Zell were too stunned to stop her, and by the time they had run after Selphie, Rinoa had already emerged from her room.

"Did you say that I'm in the paper?" she asked.

Selphie nodded, whilst Zell and Quistis both shook their heads.

Rinoa raised an eyebrow at the trio and reached for the paper that Selphie was holding out.

"Wait!" Zell said, jumping in between Rinoa and Selphie, and crashing into the wall.

Rinoa stared at him, and then looked down at the paper.

-----

"Squall," the cowboy said urgently, shaking his friend awake.

Squall swiped at him and rolled over on his stomach.

"Squall, this isn't the time to sleep."

"What the hell do you want, Irvine?"

The cowboy, Irvine Kinneas, clicked his fingers in irritation.

"You'll see after you get up."

Squall sat up in his canopy bed and gave the Irvine the coldest look that he could muster.

"This better be good."

Irvine motioned towards the window, and Squall got up to have a look.

Outside were about two dozen flashing cameras.

Squall's eyes widened and he stepped away from the window to look at Irvine.

"What the…? Isn't that more than three times the amount that are usually around."

Irvine nodded, and handed him the newspaper.

"Eat your heart out."

Squall scanned through the front page article, and his eyes practically flew out of his head.

-----

"A PROSTITUTE!" Rinoa raged.

"Rin, calm down," Quistis said, soothingly.

"A PROSTITUTE!"

For the past half hour those had been the only two words that Rinoa had uttered.

"It's just a simple mistake," Quistis said.

"A mistake! How can they mistake me for a PROSTITUTE!"

Quistis sighed.

"Look Rinoa, you've gotta calm down so we can sort this out."

Rinoa collapsed onto the sofa, her throat hoarse from shouting.

"My life is over."

"Don't say that, Rin," Selphie comforted, sitting down next to her, "At least your famous now."

Quistis frowned.

"Selphie, I don't think that's helping."

Rinoa buried her head in her hands.

"What do we do, Quistis?" she asked.

Just at that moment, Zell burst through the front door.

"Ok! I've got it!" he said, jumping on the balls of his feet.

"Got what?" Rinoa asked.

"An interview for you with Jade Bloom on the TBG radio show tomorrow morning."

"A radio appearance?"

Zell nodded.

"That's brilliant, Zell," Rinoa said, wrapping her arms around the spiky haired blonde.

"But…." Zell said, hesitantly.

Rinoa looked at him curiously.

"But what….?"

"Er…" Zell said, running a hand nervously through his spiky hair.

This was the part that he really didn't want to say. He knew it wouldn't go down very well with Rinoa.

"Er, what Zell?" Rinoa asked, suspiciously.

"Um, well the thing is that….you know that guy…um, Squall, well he's got an interview scheduled at the same time."

Rinoa's face turned a purple-red and she threw Quistis' new glass vase at Zell's head, who dodged it.

"No way! No way in HELL!" she yelled, just as the vase smashed.

Quistis flinched.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry for the late update! This chapter would've been up way sooner, but the site wouldn't let me upload (there was some error thingy). But please read and review. Thankies... :)

Also thanks a million to my two reviewers; you guys were great and I hope this next chapter is to your liking. :)


	3. Squall's Media Embarrassment

**The Ironic Things in Life**

**Disclaimer: Nup, nup, still don't own it.**

---

Rinoa Heartilly sat in the lobby of the TBG radio station, wringing her hands in her lap.

Quistis placed a hand on Rinoa's shoulder.

"Rin, it's fine. It'll be ok. Just stay calm and casual."

Rinoa swallowed and nodded, dreading the moment that she would have to lay her eyes on Squall again.

Nearby, Zell was getting into a fight with the vending machine, and Selphie was looking in excitement at Jade Bloom who was currently inside the recording studio.

"I'm just glad they don't know where we live otherwise we would've had a hoard of photographers following us around everywhere."

Rinoa nodded in agreement.

"Was I too hard on him?" Rinoa asked after a while, looking up at Quistis.

Quistis pondered her question.

"Well, maybe just a little, but he shouldn't have acted like that."

"Yeah, you're right. He had no right to act like that."

"Just stay relaxed when you see him."

"I'll give him 'relaxed'…." Rinoa muttered.

"It's just a pity you had to yell at him though. I mean, he is the President of Esthar' son."

"Who cares if he's the damn President of Esthar's son! That rude, stubborn, chicken's feet…"

"Not talking about my friend over there, are ya?"

During their discussion, the two women had failed to notice the arrival of Squall Leonhart and his cowboy friend.

Feeling embarrassed, both Rinoa and Quistis quickly stood up.

"I'm Irvine Kinneas," the cowboy introduced, "and that's Squall Leonhart of course."

Irvine nodded towards Squall, who was scowling as usual.

Rinoa, who actually liked the cowboy, gave him a friendly smile.

"I'm Rinoa Heartilly."

"Rinoa Heartilly?" Irvine wondered, "You're…"

Rinoa nodded before he could finish the sentence. She already knew what he was going to say.

"And who's your lovely friend?" Irvine asked, referring to Quistis who had remained silent.

"Quistis Trepe."

"Oh my god!" hurricane Selphie shrieked.

Selphie and Zell had just noticed the two men who had entered the building and Selphie had caught sight of Irvine.

"It's you!" she cried, jumping up and down in front of Irvine.

Irvine grinned.

"Why it's the delightful glass hugging young lady from Friday's party."

Selphie positively beamed.

"I thought I'd _never _see you again."

"I guess we were fated to meet," he said, with a wink.

Behind Selphie, Zell pretended to gag.

Irvine looked at Zell, concerned.

"I think your friend's hyperventilating."

Zell's cry of outrage went unnoticed as Squall tapped Irvine on the back.

"Can we get this over and done with?"

Irvine nodded.

"Sorry, I'll go and let Jade know that you're here."

Squall gave Rinoa a superior smirk, and followed Irvine.

Rinoa let out an exasperated sigh.

"_See_ why I hate him so much!"

-----

"We're back at TBG radio station, where Squall Leonhart the star of "The Sorceress War", and his mysterious stranger Rinoa have joined me," Jade turned to look at Squall, "Squall, how true are these rumours?"

"Not true."

"Ok, and would you like to clear up what actually happened last night?"

"A fight."

Rinoa wondered if Squall's vocabulary only consisted of two words at a time.

"And did you know Rinoa before the party in any way?"

"No."

Rinoa couldn't believe that Squall wasn't being more specific. He wasn't clearing things up, he was making it worse.

"Alrighty then, and what was the cause of the…"

"I'll tell you exactly what happened!" Rinoa roared, losing her temper.

Jade's eyes widened and she eagerly nodded.

"Go on…"

Squall merely stared, knowing the girl sitting beside him was about to rant and rave again.

"This sicko!" Rinoa said, pointing at Squall openly, "Smashed my expensive make up kit last month. When I asked him for an apology the other night, he scoffed in my face and said the most obnoxious things!"

Squall stood up.

"That's not what happened."

Rinoa stood up too.

"Yes, it is! You were rude! You were arrogant!"

"You were yelling in my face!"

"Only because you sat there like you owned the world!"

Jade Bloom's head was moving back and forth between the two of them as if she were sitting at a tennis match.

"You asked for it!"

"I didn't need to 'ask'! You should've just apologised!"

"It was your fault that you bumped into me! You were too blind to…"

"You were too blind to…"

"We have a caller," Jade Bloom interrupted them at that moment.

Squall and Rinoa were now breathing heavily, both extremely red in the face.

"I don't care," Squall muttered, stalking out of the recording studio and slamming the door shut behind him.

Rinoa sighed and slumped back down in her chair again. She didn't know why Squall made her feel like this.

"Jade Bloom, who's speaking?"

"Yeah, this is Hadie and I was just listening to your radio program. I think Squall should apologise."

"Thank you, Hadie. Jade Bloom, you're on air."

"Hi, Jade. I think Squall's being way too egotistical. He should apologise and replace the make up kit."

"Thank you, guys. We'll take some more calls right after this short break."

-----

"Rinoa!" Quistis called.

Quistis Trepe was currently sitting in the lounge room, reading through the morning paper as usual.

Rinoa stuck her head out of her room, wishing that it wasn't a working day or that Quistis would lose her voice.

"Wha…aaaaaaah!"

Rinoa screamed and jumped back as Zell emerged from the bathroom without any clothes on and streaked into his room.

Quistis frowned.

"ZELL DINCHT! IF YOU CONTINUE TO RUN AROUND NAKED, I WILL HAVE TO TAKE SEVERE ACTION!"

Rinoa wiped her brow and made her way over to where Quistis was sitting.

"I NEVER want to see Zell in his birthday suit ever again."

"Perfectly understandable," Quistis replied.

Rinoa yawned and rubbed her eyes, just as Selphie emerged from her room.

"….Zell….naked?" she asked, half asleep as she stumbled into the bathroom.

Rinoa laughed and turned back to Quistis.

"So what were you calling for?"

"You seem to have redeemed yourself in the eyes of the general public."

"Really!"

Quistis handed Rinoa the newspaper.

_Yesterday, Squall Leonhart was brought to shame as his mysterious 'prostitute', Rinoa (surname unknown) revealed the reason for her outburst. Leonhart had ruined the young lady's expensive belongings which included an 'Ellone' make up kit, a pair of 'Ellone' sunglasses and an 'Ellone' handbag. Leonhart is now infamous for his rudeness and certainty to knock over young women. Leonhart's fans are unimpressed and insist that he apologise to Rinoa. It is yet to be seen whether Rinoa will sue for damages done to her items._

Rinoa released a breath she didn't know she was holding, then started laughing.

"A make up kit, a pair of sunglasses and a handbag," she chuckled.

Quistis looked amused.

"It's wonderful when the media exaggerates things in your favour, isn't it?"

Rinoa nodded, her face glowing with happiness. Squall had finally gotten what was coming to him.

Selphie came out the bathroom, and walked over to where Rinoa and Quistis had clustered.

"What's new?" she asked brightly, feeling revitalised.

Rinoa threw the newspaper at Selphie.

"See for yourself. I'm going to have a shower otherwise I'll be way too late for work."

Quistis resumed her seat and as Selphie started to read, Rinoa could be heard laughing all the way to the bathroom.

"….and certainty to knock over young women…HA!"

-----

Rinoa walked through the community centre's doors, in an elated mood. She felt that nothing could go wrong today.

Jessie stood behind the counter, her hands on her hips.

"You could've told me!"

Jessie aimed a stapler at Rinoa's head which hit her forehead.

"OW, JESSIE!"

"Well you deserved it! You met Squall Leonhart and you couldn't tell me!"

"I was going to tell you today!"

Rinoa joined Jessie behind the counter and rubbed her forehead which had unfortunately turned red.

"You're completely famous now!" Jessie exclaimed, handing Rinoa an ice pack that she had prepared before hand.

Rinoa put the ice pack to her head and moaned.

"Will you get off it?"

The door to the community centre opened and Seifer strode in. Seeing Rinoa with the ice pack on her head, he stopped in front of her.

"What happened to you? Have another run in with puberty boy?"

Rinoa raised an eyebrow.

"Puberty boy?"

"Yeah, that Leonhart freak."

Rinoa studied Seifer curiously.

"You don't like him either?"

Seifer shrugged.

"He's an arrogant brat. We used to go to the same school in Balamb."

Rinoa smiled.

"Yeah, I know. We don't exactly get along."

Seifer smirked.

"So, you've been little miss popularity recently."

Rinoa blushed.

"I didn't know who Squall was. Otherwise I would've confronted him in a private place."

"No harm done, except maybe to his ego."

"Well, he deserves it."

Seifer actually smiled, and Rinoa felt her heart beat speed up.

"Anyway, I'm off to do my chores. I'll see you around," Seifer said with a wink, and walked off.

Rinoa couldn't believe that she was actually starting to like Seifer.

Jessie pinched Rinoa and pouted.

"First you meet Squall, and now you have Seifer flirting with you. I hate you!"

-----

Squall Leonhart had his usual scowl pasted across his face.

"I refuse to apologise to _that_ girl."

Irvine Kinneas sighed.

Irvine was a born and bred Galbadian who chanced upon meeting Squall through President Laguna Loire. Laguna had a hobby of being a director and Irvine was signed to do one of his action packed movies. Laguna came to Galbadia with his scowling son for the shooting of the movie but it got cancelled.

After that, Irvine's best pick up line was, "I almost became the star of a Laguna Loire movie."

Squall decided to settle down in Galbadia to get away from his father and since he and Irvine had already become good friends, they decided to move in together, accompanied by one of Squall's school friends. After that, Squall got signed to do "The Sorceress War".

"Squall, all your fans are against you. You've got to do this," Irvine begged.

"Are you crazy! Do you know the kind of stuff that girl said to me! There is no way I'm gonna apologise to her!"

"Squall, your fans…"

In a short amount of time, Irvine had become Squall's advisor and personal assistant, which could be hard sometimes because he'd have to act professionally instead of as a friend. But hell, he didn't care; as long as he got paid 20, 000 Gil a month for it.

"My fans aren't going to be around forever. In the end I'm on my own."

Irvine clicked his fingers. Squall was driving him insane.

"Look, Squall…"

"I'm home, thugs!"

Squall and Irvine's flat mate had arrived.

"Seifer, will you explain to this lame brain that he's gotta say sorry to the gal?" Irvine pleaded.

Seifer Almasy sneered.

"Awe, is little Squally-poo gonna cry cos the girl called him names?" he teased.

Squall glared coldly at his best friend.

"Shove it, Seifer."

"Actually, I was talking to her today…" Seifer said.

Squall quickly turned to look at Seifer, as Irvine grabbed a can of beer from the fridge.

"Talking to who?"

Seifer pretended to rack his brains, trying to think of the girl's name.

"Hmm…what was her name now…? I seem to have forgotten…"

"Will you cut the dramatics!" Squall yelled, slashing his arm through thin air.

Seifer smiled, satisfied that he could still get Squall's temper to boiling point.

Seifer smacked his forehead in mock realisation.

"Oh, of course! Rinoa!"

"Wait, how do you know Rinoa anyway?" Irvine asked.

"You know how I got 100 hours of community service for beating up that guy…?

Irvine nodded.

"Well, the centre that I went to is where she works."

Squall tried not to care about this little piece of information.

"There you go! Now you can go over there and apologise!" Irvine cried.

"Are you kidding? There is no way you'll get me to apologise to her," Squall said, heading towards his room.

Seifer and Irvine glanced at eachother.

"So what do we do?" Irvine asked.

Seifer shrugged.

"Maybe we could get them to accidentally bump into eachother," Irvine suggested.

Seifer snickered, imaging how well that would work.

"Get real, Kinneas."

Irvine looked offended.

"Well let's see you think of a better idea, Almasy."

Seifer folded his arms over his broad chest.

"Actually _Kinneas_, I have the perfect plan."

Irvine gulped as he noticed the scheming glint in Seifer's eyes.

-----

"ZELL DINCHT! DID YOU BORROW MY HIGH HEELS AGAIN!"

Zell and Selphie both choked on their cornflakes for different reasons.

Of course that was none other than Quistis Trepe's usual morning routine.

"Well?" Quistis asked, standing at the entrance of the kitchen with her hands on her hips.

Zell looked at her easily.

"Er…well…uh, they may have accidentally gotten mixed…."

"MIXED IN WHAT! THE LAUNDRY!" Quistis demanded, sarcastically.

Zell turned the colour of an overlarge pomegranate and lost the ability to speak.

"Go get them right now!" Quistis ordered.

Zell nodded mutely, scared out of his skin, and ran to his room.

Quistis shook her head.

"What am I supposed to do with that guy…?"

Selphie giggled and started eating Zell's abandoned cornflakes.

"Guys, I'm going to work now," Rinoa said, running into the kitchen.

Quistis raised an eyebrow.

"This early?"

Rinoa nodded.

"I need to go to the library so it might take me a while."

The girls exchanged their good byes and Rinoa headed towards the front door, walking past Zell's room on the way.

"Zell, I hope you didn't throw up on them!" she called out cheerfully.

A thud came from Zell's room and Rinoa laughed as she opened the front door.

She almost didn't see the envelope on the doorstep.

Curiously she picked it up. It was addressed to her! Quickly she started to open up the letter, wondering who it could possibly be from.

* * *

**A/N:** Ok, here's Chapter 3. I've been writing it for two days, because I just couldn't think of how much to give away...but anyway, I hope you like it! Please don't forget to read and review! Thankies. :) 

Also, I'd like to thank my reviewers.

**Luis: **Glad you enjoy the humour. :)

**Neo Bahamut**

**PinkyLindsay: **I'm glad you love the story. Thanks heaps for reviewing. :)


	4. Rinoa and Seifer

**The Ironic Things in Life**

**Disclaimer: Didn't own it last time I checked.**

Just thought I should explain this cos I haven't used it in the previous chapters.

"..." - speech

'...' - thinking

_Italics_ - for dreams or flashbacks

---

When Rinoa Heartilly had woken up that morning, she had never expected to be holding the item that was in her hand at that moment; the letter.

Rinoa read through it again, making sure that she wasn't imagining things.

"No, it can't be," she whispered, tears springing to her eyes again.

Rinoa was walking towards her bus stand in a daze. She just couldn't believe what was happening.

She ignored people that she bumped into. Her mind was elsewhere.

"How could this happen…?" she wondered out loud.

Her head filled with the sound of gun shots and screaming; things she didn't want to remember.

With an insignificant wail, Rinoa collapsed onto a brick wall. She didn't have the energy to go to work. She didn't have the energy to do anything.

After all this time, she had managed to brighten up her life in Galbadia, but now things were going downhill.

"Why is this happening to me…?"

For, the letter that was in Rinoa's hand was about something that she wished she had never done. Something that she was about to be punished for.

Her past had finally caught up to her.

-----

Squall stared at Rinoa from where his car was parked.

'It's happened at last,' he thought to himself, 'She's turned into a psychopath.'

But when he studied Rinoa closely again, he could tell that she was just very upset.

'I wonder what happened this time….maybe she broke a nail….'

Squall tapped the steering wheel of his car, still studying Rinoa. Her dark hair had fallen down her graceful porcelain neck, and Squall felt drawn to her in a strange way.

He shook his head, as if to force himself from looking at her.

'What the hell is wrong with me…?'

Just as he said that, Rinoa stood up. She stumbled as she took a step forward, and Squall realised that something wasn't right.

Quickly, he got out of his car and crossed the street to where Rinoa was swaying dangerously.

"Um…are you ok?" he ventured to ask her.

Rinoa's ears perked up at the familiar voice, and she momentarily focussed her dark eyes onto him.

"Y-you…pig….ge-…away…"

Rinoa swiped weakly at Squall and then fell into his arms in a faint.

Squall looked down at the girl, terrified out of his mind.

'Oh god, what the hell am I supposed to do now?'

He looked down at Rinoa again.

'Er…she's not dead, right?'

-----

Squall knocked furiously on the apartment door, wondering where the hell Irvine and Seifer had gone off to and died.

There was an unnerving burp on the other side of the door, and Irvine opened it.

Irvine's eyes widened at the sight of the young woman in Squall's arms. Squall pushed past him into the apartment and hurried to his room.

Seifer choked on his drink when he saw what was in Squall's arms.

"What the…?"

"Irvine! Bring some water!" Squall ordered from his room.

As Irvine quickly grabbed a glass from a cupboard, Seifer sauntered over to Squall's room.

"What did you do to her, Leonhart?" he asked, leaning against the door frame.

Squall glanced up briefly.

"Nothing! She just fainted on top of me!"

Seifer realised that Squall's voice was shaking.

"Here, here!" Irvine cried, running into Squall's room with a glass of water.

Seifer failed to move his foot from Irvine's path and Irvine fell on top of Squall, spilling the water over Rinoa. Squall, in turn, fell on top of Rinoa.

"Irvine! Will you get the hell off me!"

As Irvine struggled, his feet twisted on the edge of the bed sheets, Rinoa gained consciousness.

-----

"Aaaaaaaaaaah!" Rinoa screamed.

"Aaaaaaaaaaah!" Squall screamed.

"What are you…get the hell off ME!" Rinoa shrieked.

Squall was too stunned to realise that Irvine had gotten off him ages ago.

"You PERVERT! You HARASSER!" Rinoa yelled, hitting Squall all over the face.

"Calm down! I'm just trying to help you!" Squall shouted.

"GET….OFF!"

With a boost of energy, Rinoa pushed Squall away with as much force as she could conjure, which caused him to tumble onto the floor.

Squall jumped to his feet.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he demanded.

Rinoa placed her hand furiously on her hip.

"What the hell is wrong with YOU?"

Rinoa stood there, glaring at the guy who had already caused so much trouble in her life. She couldn't believe that he had tried to have his way with her. The nerve!

Seifer snickered, causing Rinoa to turn sharply in his direction. For a brief second her eyes widened.

'It's him!'

"Seifer…?" she asked, as if barely believing that he was standing before her.

Seifer shrugged.

"Surprise….?"

Rinoa ran into his arms.

"Seifer, get me out of here!"

Seifer stared down at the petite woman, and then glanced at Squall who was glaring at both of them.

He grinned.

Squall wasn't angry or upset. Nor was he offended or pissed off. He was _jealous_.

-----

Rinoa lay tossing and turning in her bed that night.

Her mind was still focussed on the contents of the letter. After a while, she drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

"_Rinoa!" a young man with brown hair called out._

"_Run, Rinoa!" another young man, wearing a beanie, shouted._

"_Wait!" Rinoa yelled, "Wait for me!"_

"_Run, Rinoa!"_

"_I...can't! Wait!"_

"_Hurry, Rinoa!"_

_Gunshots fired in the background._

"_Don't leave me…please…"_

"_Rinoa! You can make it!"_

"_Jump, Rinoa!"_

"_NO! Zone, Watts! WAIT!"_

With a start, Rinoa woke up. Sweat was pouring down her face and she had kicked her blanket off her bed.

Her memories were now haunting her dreams. They were things that she didn't want to remember; things that she wished she had never done.

She sighed and tried to get into a comfortable position, before drifting off again.

-----

Not far away, Squall Leonhart was having the same trouble. He couldn't get to sleep at all, and when he dared to close his eyes, the same image kept entering his mind.

In fact, the image had seemed to have etched itself into his brain. No matter what he thought about, it kept on resurfacing.

The image was of course of Rinoa in Seifer's arms.

'But why would that bother me so much?' he wondered.

'Why do I even care what Rinoa does?'

Squall rolled over on his side.

'She's completely crazy. What does she have against me? She's probably in love with Seifer."

Squall sat up abruptly.

He didn't know why that thought had caused him so much discomfort.

"What do I care…?" he muttered, before trying to resume his sleep again.

-----

"Morning, Rinoa," Zell said, walking out of the bathroom.

"Morning, good to see you fully clothed today."

Zell blushed, and hurried into his room.

As Rinoa headed to the lounge room, she saw Selphie and Quistis bickering.

"But, Quisty…"

"No buts. Rinoa won't like…oh, morning Rin."

Quistis flashed Rinoa a bright smile that was filled with guilt.

Rinoa raised an eyebrow sceptically.

"What won't I like?"

Selphie bit her lip, and glanced at Quistis.

"Uh…nothing."

Rinoa looked pointedly at Selphie, who finally gave in to Rinoa's icy glare.

"Well, um…you know how it's my birthday party this weekend…?"

Rinoa nodded.

'How can I forget? Selphie stuck notes everywhere….including Zell's underwear…'

"Well, I was thinking of inviting Irvine…"

"What's wrong with that?" Rinoa asked.

Selphie played with the clasps on her yellow dress overalls.

"But then I thought it'd be rude not to invite Squall…"

"WHAT? You're going to invite him even after everything that he's done?"

Selphie flinched.

"But, Rin…"

"Rinoa," Quistis interrupted, "Just because you have some strange thing against Squall, doesn't mean that…"

"I don't have a strange thing against him! There's a reason for it!"

"Sure, Rin. Look, it's Sef's party and she can invite who ever she wants."

Rinoa crossed her arms.

"Fine! Why would you care about my feelings anyway? Go ahead and do whatever you want! I don't care!"

-----

Rinoa sat in the park, waiting for the one person that she could really talk to about her life.

She fiddled with her hair nervously.

'I hope I look alright. I wonder if he's superficial…'

"Hey," a husky voice said in her ear.

Rinoa's skin tingled as the young man's breath lingered on the bare skin of her neck.

"Hi, Seifer," she whispered.

Seifer took a seat beside her and studied the side of her face.

"Why'd you ask me to come here?"

Rinoa shrugged, trying to keep her tears inside.

"So can I go then?"

Seifer was half standing when Rinoa furiously faced him, about to yell insults. Then she realised that he was joking.

Seifer resumed his seat and observed the way Rinoa's flawless skin was accentuated by her rosy pink cheeks and rose bud lips.

Rinoa blushed when she noticed Seifer looking at her intently. Feeling shy, she tucked a lock of her black behind her ear.

"So, what's the matter Rinoa?"

Rinoa sighed.

She was enjoying the silence between her and Seifer. It made her feel secure, in a way.

"I guess I've just been feeling a little under the weather."

"How come?"

Rinoa shrugged, deciding not to cloud Seifer's mind with her stupid life.

"It doesn't matter. I'm just glad you're here."

Rinoa looked up at Seifer, who put an arm around her shoulder. The bright green of his eyes were penetrating into hers, and she could think of nothing else but him.

Not far away, a young man with slate blue eyes was surveying the scene in the park, his eyes turning dangerously dark.

* * *

**A/N:** My major apologies for the lateness of updating. I was away on holidays...seriously! I know it's short, and doesn't live up to expectations...but I promise the next chapter will be loads better. I guess I was going through a lazy/depressed period and so was Rinoa... :p

Ok, here's a task for you guys; I want you to guess what the letter is about. Heehee, looking forwards to your predictions. And I'll update by tomorrow...I promise. :)

Now, when I got back from my holiday, I was extremely pleased by your reviews...thanks guys. :)

**Dark Naruto:** Thankies! I'll try to update every second day now.

**Verdanii:** Glad you think it's "neato" and that you like it. :)

**Luis:** Hehe, trust me; Seifer and Irvine are up to something _good. _More on that in the upcoming chapter.

**o513o:** Eeek, sorry for the little cliff hanger. I felt like being a little "mean". :o

**Cerulean Crystal:** Glad you like the storyline and the humour. This chapter is missing that humour, but more funny stuff in chapter 5 (hehe, Seifer & Irvine).

**Sense of Life: **Well, I cracked up cos of your review. Thanks! It's good to know you like my work. I've just been updating fast cosI had the basic idea in my mind so it only took me like a day or so to fix up tiny details and so on. :)

Thanks for taking the time to review...I really appreciate it. And as for you lazier ones who only read it and don't review... (coughs)...hit that review button right now!


	5. Selphie's Assumptions

**The Ironic Things in Life**

**Disclaimer: Tra, la la la...nope, still not mine...**

**Edit in chapter 4: **Well, a little birdie told me that Seifer had green eyes...well, actually it was Verdanii. Thanks Verdanii! To be honest, I had no freaking idea what colour eyes Seifer had. :p

---

"God damnit!"

"Squall, what the hell…?"

"GOD DAMNIT!"

Squall was pacing the lounge room furiously.

"Will you tell me what happened at least?" Irvine asked, covering his face at Squall's behaviour.

Squall slashed his arm through thin air.

"Seifer!"

Now Irvine understood almost everything. Seifer could get Squall into a fit of rage which no one, except Rinoa, had ever come close to challenging. Irvine still couldn't understand how Squall and Seifer had managed to become friends.

"What did Seifer do?"

Squall stopped pacing and glared at Irvine as if he was Seifer.

"He was fraternising with the enemy!"

Irvine looked bewildered.

"We have an enemy! What enemy!"

Squall resisted the urge to kick Irvine out the window.

"RINOA!"

Understanding dawned onto Irvine's lean face.

"Oh, well she's not really an enemy…"

"What the hell are you talking about! Of course she's an enemy! My enemies are your enemies!"

Irvine rolled his eyes.

"That's a nice thought."

-----

"Woo hoo!" Selphie Tilmitt exclaimed as she sent rolls of streamers flying out of her hands that landed halfway across the room.

Quistis looked on at the proceedings with utter disapproval and disbelief.

"Selphie," she decided to say, "I don't think that's the best way to decorate for a birthday party."

Selphie turned her emerald green eyes onto Quistis for a brief second.

"It's fun, Quisty!"

With that, Selphie turned around and started flinging balloons randomly across the floor.

Quistis rubbed her temples and settled on reading a book to distract herself from Selphie's unorderly way of decorating the apartment for her birthday party.

Zell bounded across the room, dodging balloons and sparkly things, and headed to the fridge to look for something edible.

Rinoa came out of her room and joined Quistis at where she was sitting on the sofa.

Quistis threw Rinoa a smile.

"How've you been, Rin?"

Rinoa shrugged, and watched as Selphie blew up a bright pink balloon.

"Fine, I guess."

"How's work been?"

"Fine."

Quistis sighed.

"Look Rin, if you're still upset about…"

Quistis became distracted by Selphie's balloon blowing up in her face.

Rinoa watched as Selphie rubbed the spot where the balloon had popped on, Selphie hoping that no one had noticed the embarrassing moment.

Unfortunately Zell had noticed Selphie's little disaster, and he laughed as he walked carelessly across the room with a bowl of ice cream.

"I'm over that, Quisty."

"Then why are you depressed?"

"I don't know. I just am."

"Rin, if there's something wrong you can tell me. I'm always here for you."

"I know, Qui…"

Rinoa and Quistis both jumped out of their skin as Zell stepped on a balloon and landed on his bum, whilst his bowl of ice cream trickled down his head.

"Oh, that's really sweet Zell, really sweet," Selphie commented, as choc chip pieces fell onto his cheek.

Zell shrugged and simply grinned as he stuck out his tongue and licked them off.

"EWW!" the three girls chorused unanimously.

-----

As Seifer walked into the apartment, the first thing he saw was a scowling Squall standing in the centre of the room.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked, pulling off his trench coat that had red crosses on the arms.

Squall's scowl deepened.

"If you're going to serenade to someone like _her_, then consider yourself an ex-flatmate."

Seifer walked forward until he was inches away from Squall.

"Been spying on us, have you? Learn something, Puberty Boy?"

Squall's face remained impassive, but inside he was bottling up all his anger.

"I haven't been _spying_. I happened to be going…"

"Cut the crap, Queenie. I can talk to whoever the hell I want."

Squall's anger was just about to release itself, and he couldn't think of a reasonable comeback.

Seifer snickered.

"Grow up, Puberty boy," he taunted, "And if you like _her_ that much, why don't you apologise and ask her out before someone else does."

Squall balled up his fists.

"I DON"T LIKE HER!"

Seifer threw his trench over Squall's head.

"Tell that to someone who'll believe ya."

-----

"Talk to me," Irvine said, as he answered the phone.

"_Hi, Irvy poo!"_

"Hi, Sefie baby bottom. I missed you sooo much."

"_I missed you too, my hunky bean pole."_

"Awe, my snooky pooky, I missed you the mostest. So, what's happening?"

"_It's my birthday tomorrow and I'm having a party. You have to come!"_

Irvine smiled slyly into the phone.

"How can I refuse a beautiful lady like you?"

"You mean a bloody Chihuahua," Squall muttered, as he flicked through the newspaper.

Irvine glared at Squall, forgetting that he had been sitting there the entire time.

"What? Oh, nothing Sef. It was just moose."

"_A moose?"_

"Huh? No, I mean a mosquito."

"_Oh, well what do you think? Will my honey bunny be able to make it?"_

"_Selphie, I have to tell you something," another voice said._

"_Huh? Irvine, is that you?"_

"_Yes, it's me. I'm sorry, Selphie…..but….I'm GAY!"_

"_WHAT!"_

"WHAT!" Irvine cried at the same time.

"_Oh, Irvy, how could you?" Selphie cried._

"I'm…what the? Who the hell is that?" Irvine demanded.

"_Selphie, angel toes, I'm so sorry…but I've been cheating on you."_

"_Irvine, I can't believe you'd do this to me! I thought you loved me!"_

"No!" Irvine cried, flustered.

"_You mean you never loved me…?" Selphie questioned._

"No…no, I didn't mean that 'no'. I meant no, I'm not ga…..oh for god's sake!"

"_Fine, Irvine! Have it your way!"_

The line went dead and Irvine leaned back on the couch, bewildered.

Squall looked at him, highly amused at the conversation that had just taken place.

"Who the hell…" Irvine wondered, and then it dawned on him as Seifer emerged from his room, holding onto the cordless phone and his stomach from laughter.

Irvine stood up stiffly, his eyes wide.

"You…you…"

"Me…me…" Seifer mocked, his laughter subsiding for the time being.

"GOD DAMNIT, SEIFER! I'M GOING TO FREAKING KILL YOU!"

Irvine jumped over the couch as Seifer ran for the front door, and he followed him.

Squall got up and walked over to the window just in time to see Irvine chasing Seifer down the street and around the corner, screaming like a deranged lunatic.

Squall let out the laughter that he had been holding in, and returned to reading the newspaper, a smile lingering on his face.

-----

"WAAAAAAH!" Selphie screamed, causing Quistis, Zell and Rinoa to jump out of their skins.

"Sef, it's ok," Quistis said, soothingly.

"NO, IT'S NOT! I MADE HIM GAY!"

Zell scratched his head.

"How do you know he wasn't already gay?"

"ZELL DINCHT! ARE YOU CALLING MY BOYFRIEND GAY?"

Zell leapt back, crashing into the kitchen sink.

"Er…no….I…"

"Do you know who he's gay with?" Rinoa ventured to ask.

Selphie shook her head, looking deeply depressed.

Quistis patted her back.

"I think you should go over there and talk to him about it."

"But phone to make sure he's at home first," Rinoa suggested.

Zell handed Selphie the phone in hopes of redeeming himself.

"Hello? Who's this?" Selphie demanded, as a male picked up the phone.

"_Squall Leonhart."_

Selphie wiggled her eyebrows vigorously in Rinoa's direction, motioning for her to come closer to the phone.

"This is Selphie Tilmitt, and I want the truth. Are you gay with Irvine?" Selphie asked.

"_I sincerely hope not."_

"Good! Now, is _he_ at home?"

"_By 'he' I suppose you mean Irvine? No, he's gone out for a run with a 'friend'. He should be back soon."_

"With a friend? Is the friend a male?"

"_As far as I know, he is. Unless he decided that being a drag queen was his chosen career path."_

Selphie covered her mouth in shock. Her worst fears were confirmed. Irvine was dating a guy!

"Well, I'm coming over. I need to have a serious word with him."

"_Fine, but I'm going out soon. I'll put the key to the apartment under the front door's mat just in case Irvine and his 'friend' are delayed."_

"Thanks so much, Squall," Selphie said, hanging up and turning back to her friends.

"Well?" Quistis asked.

"IT'S TRUE! IT'S ALL TRUE!" Selphie wailed.

-----

"GOD DAMNIT, SEIFER!" Irvine yelled, as the two men finally raced back to their apartment.

"Give it up, freeloader!" Seifer retorted, running straight for his room.

"NOT UNTIL I KILL YOU!"

Irvine just barely managed to stop Seifer from closing his door.

"Got you now, Almasy."

Seifer rolled his eyes.

"Oooh, I'm so scared. What's the worst you can do, Kinneas? Tickle me?"

Irvine's face turned red and he jumped on Seifer, causing the both of them to fall onto his bed.

"I'm going to MURDER you!" Irvine yelled, punching Seifer's face.

Seifer easily blocked the enraged man's attacks as easily as if he were swatting a fly.

"Is that all you can do, Kinneas?" Seifer taunted, "My grandmother could hit better than you!"

Irvine growled and punched Seifer harder than before, as Seifer defended himself, laughing at the fact that Irvine hit like a little girl.

Seifer's eyes suddenly landed on a figure standing at the door that he didn't recognise, but he noticed a pair of forest green eyes complimenting the girl and realised that this must be the 'green-eyed sprite' that Irvine was always talking about. Seeing the shocked expression on the girl's face, Seifer decided to milk it for all it was worth.

Seifer wrapped his arms around Irvine's neck.

"Oh, Irvine baby. Oh yeah, you're so good."

Irvine stared down at the blonde that he was attacking, hoping that Seifer was either having a seizure or had become mentally unstable.

"Irvine baby, why did you stop?" Seifer asked, rubbing a callused hand against Irvine's cheek.

"Seifer, what the fuck is wrong with you?" Irvine demanded, climbing off him.

"Irvine!" Selphie chose to say at that exact moment.

A choking noise came out of Irvine's throat, and he tumbled onto the floor.

"Se...Selphie…?" he asked, hoping that he had just imagined that she was standing right in front of him.

Selphie's bottom lip quivered as she tried not to cry.

"I'd almost convinced myself that you were heterosexual, but now you're at it with him like a god damn rabbit!"

"No, Selphie! It's not what you think!" Irvine tried to explain.

"No! I don't want to hear another word from you, Irvine Kinneas! I HATE YOU!"

With that, Selphie stormed away.

Irvine looked at his girlfriend's retreating figure, feeling completely helpless.

Over on the bed, Seifer easily laughed at Irvine's misfortune.

"That was bloody priceless! Priceless, I tell ya!"

Irvine slowly stood up, his entire body shaking with white hot rage.

"Seifer…" was the only warning he gave before he knocked the muscular blonde to the floor.

-----

Rinoa lay fast asleep, clutching the letter in her delicate hand.

After another day of worrying about the contents that the letter held, she had fallen into an uneasy sleep.

In his room, Zell Dincht glanced at his clock and saw that it read 11:17. He figured that Rinoa would be asleep by now.

Without making a sound, Zell grabbed his camera and left his room. He made his way across the lounge room and towards Rinoa's room. Pressing his ear to the door to make sure that all was quiet, he opened it and stepped inside.

Zell crept over to Rinoa's bed and noticed the piece of paper in her pale hand. Carefully, he teased it out and read through the letter, his eyes widening at what it said.

Deciding that this news would be very important to remember, he placed the letter beside the sleeping girl and took a step back.

Aiming the camera at her, he pressed the button and the camera flashed.

* * *

**A/N:** It happens to the best of us (and the worst) and I shamelessly admit it...I had writer's block! I would've had this chapter up ages ago but I just couldn't think of how to present it...but it's up! YAY! And I'm quite proud of it...so patience does lead to a good final product (most of the time).

Hehe, Zellie is a pervert, Zellie is a pervert! Well, actually he's not but we can all just pretend. :p

Well, as for Irvine and Seifer; I think they're too busy arguing to put their plan into action, but don't worry they'll "attempt" to accomplish it in the upcoming chapters.

Now, thanks goes out to my reviewers. I love reading your reviews, so keep 'em coming! And for those of you can be "bothered" to read my story but can't be "bothered" to review, shame on you. :(

Keep reading and reviewing, guys. :)


	6. Squall's Secret

**The Ironic Things in Life**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it...not yet anyways!**

---

"Zell…?"

Zell Dincht spun around, terrified out of his mind.

Quistis Trepe was standing a couple of metres away from him, squinting in the darkness.

"Uh…hey, Quisty…"

"What were you doing in Rinoa's room…?"

Zell hurriedly hid the camera behind his back.

"N-nothing…"

"And what's that in your hand…?"

"It's nothing…"

Zell took a step backwards, as Quistis held her hand out for the item.

"Zell Dincht, hand it over immediately," she said, switching to her teacher mode.

Zell Dincht reluctantly handed the digital camera over to Quistis.

Quistis raised an eyebrow.

"What on earth were you doing in Rinoa's room at this time of night with a camera?"

Zell racked his brains for a passable excuse.

"Um…um, you know S-Sef's birthday….I, well was taking photos for a m-memorabilia…thing…"

Quistis smiled.

"Zell, that is so sweet of you. I'm sure Selphie will love that. Do you want to take my photo too?"

Zell stared at Quistis, a little out of shock and maybe surprise, and took his camera back from her.

Quistis fluffed up her hair.

"Ok, how do I look?"

"Perfect," Zell replied, snapping a quick photo of the blonde.

-----

"Are you gonna buy out the whole fucking department store?" Seifer Almasy directed to Irvine.

Irvine glared at the good looking blonde through a little gap in the pile of items in his hands.

"I don't think you're in a position to be mouthing off, Almasy," Irvine retorted, trying to look pointedly at Seifer's right arm which was in a cast.

Seifer sneered and glanced around at Squall.

"What about you, Queenie? Gonna buy a nice little apology present for Rinoa…?"

"…." was Squall's reply.

"Hey Squall, you reckon Sef will like this?" Irvine asked, holding up a box of chocolate coated liquorice sticks.

".…"

Seifer walked over to a display of bunny lingerie.

"Hey Kinneas, you reckon Selphie angel toes will see the sentimental value in this...?"

Irvine only growled, trying not to let Seifer provoke him.

Squall moved away from the both of them and made his way towards the escalator to go upstairs.

"…you'll look gorgeous in it, Sef…"

"…yeah, Selphie…"

Squall quickly glanced up to see a blonde, brunette and black haired girl coming down the escalator past him.

"…not trying to impress anyone…"

"…awe, Sef…"

Squall instantly knew that the brunette was Selphie Tilmitt and he recognised the blonde as Quistis Trepe. The black haired girl was none other than Rinoa Heartilly.

He knew that he shouldn't be staring, but once again he couldn't help himself. The three girls were too busy chattering to take notice of him, and for a moment Squall thought that he was saved.

Just as Rinoa and Squall's escalator met in mid way, Rinoa looked up. Squall's slate coloured eyes became fused with her ebony ones and neither of them were able to look away.

"…Rinoa…?" Quistis asked.

Squall quickly turned around and climbed off the escalator as it reached the top. He wanted to get away from her.

Squall quickly pushed past a group of people and made his way to the back of the store where the wedding displays were. He studied the black tuxedo complimented with a black bow tie and fingered the velvet lining.

When he was younger, he would accompany his mum to her wedding costume designing studio. After her death, he had avoided going near wedding displays as much as possible, afraid that he would be reminded of his mother. Now he wasn't sure why he was so drawn to the black tuxedo.

"Oh my god, is it really you…?" an excited voice asked.

Squall whirled around to find a small crowd standing around him.

"Squall Leonhart…?"

"Oh my god! Can I get your autograph? Please!"

Squall backed away from the group of women, regretting the fact that he had left the safety of Irvine and Seifer.

Pushing past them, he ran back the way he had come, hoping that they wouldn't be able to keep up.

-----

"Please Sef, I'm really sorry," Irvine said, as Selphie, Quistis and Rinoa stood around him and Seifer.

"Have you left him?" Selphie questioned, looking over at Seifer.

Seifer snickered and rolled his eyes at the naivety of the woman.

"Baby, I'm clean!" Irvine exclaimed, dropping all the unpaid packages on the floor and taking Selphie into his arms.

Disrupted by the noise, a stuck up salesperson made her way over to Irvine.

"Excuse me sir, but you'll have to pay for all the damaged items. I'd estimate the cost to come to around about 37, 000 Gil," she said.

Irvine stared at her in shock and took off his hat.

"Did you know that I almost became the star of a Laguna Loire movie?"

The salesperson crossed her arms and looked unimpressed.

"Good for you sir, now if you could just pay for the items…."

Seifer looked up towards the escalator, and did a double take.

"Kinneas, run!" he cried, pushing Irvine towards the nearest exit.

"What? Why?" Irvine asked, as the stronger man shoved him out of the store.

"Irvine!"

Quistis and Rinoa simply stared as Squall Leonhart tripped past them, in a flurry for no apparent reason.

"It's him!" Selphie exclaimed excitedly.

Quistis however had turned back towards the escalator, her eyes wide.

"Goodness…."

A large group of girls struggled past, chasing after the terrified brunette male.

Rinoa was still trying to digest everything, and barely acknowledged the girls pushing past her.

"Come on!" Selphie cried, hurrying after Squall.

"Selphie, no…" Rinoa tried to protest, but was pushed along with the other girls as Selphie raced along.

-----

"Get the car!" Seifer yelled, as he saw Squall running towards them.

"It's too far, they'll catch us by then," Irvine said.

"I swear Leonhart, I'm never going with you anywhere again,' Seifer snapped, as Squall reached them.

"…."

"Stop a cab! Hurry!" Irvine shouted.

"You stop a cab, Kinneas! You're his fucking personal assistant!"

"You're his bloody body guard!" Irvine countered.

Squall buried his head in his hands and wished that he could fire both of them on the spot. They drove him insane.

"Ok Squall, come over here," Seifer motioned, removing his trench coat.

Squall moved closer to Seifer, who covered his head with the coat.

"Let's go across the street and try to stop a cab," Irvine suggested.

Seifer wrapped his arm around Squall, and the three men hurried across the road.

"SHIT!" Irvine cried, "Who called the freaking paparazzi?"

Seifer groaned and pushed Squall behind him.

"Squall, do you think the release of your movie will affect your fame as Laguna Loire's son in any way?" a woman asked, pushing a mike somewhere near Seifer's broad shoulder.

"Back off, lady!" Seifer roared, covering Squall up as much as he could.

The woman whispered something to her cameraman, pointed at someone in the crowd and smirked.

-----

"Irvy!" Selphie exclaimed, launching herself onto the 6 foot man.

"Hey, Sef," Irvine responded, handing Selphie her 14 presents.

Selphie clasped her chest.

"Wow, Irvy! Are they for me?"

Seifer pushed past the two of them as he entered the apartment.

"No, they're for the buck toothed gopher that's standing exactly where you are," he muttered.

Irvine gave Seifer a dark look and then continued to fawn over Selphie.

Squall made a silent entrance as usual and regretted coming along. He hated crowds.

Over in the corner, Rinoa noticed both Seifer and Squall.

"He came!"

"Who?" Quistis asked.

"Squall! How dare he come here!"

Quistis shrugged.

"Well, Sef invited him. Oh look, there's that Seifer guy we saw at the store yesterday."

Rinoa focused her eyes onto the pleasing appearance of the extremely attractive male.

"I feel so weird. I never knew he was actually still Squall's friend, and there I was spilling my guts about how much I hated Squall."

"It's alright; I don't suppose he's the kind of guy to really care about things like that."

Rinoa nodded in agreement, and watched as Seifer made his way towards them.

"Hi, bunnies," he said.

"Hi, Seifer," Rinoa replied, a slight flush creeping up her neck.

Quistis nodded in response.

"Seifer, I was wondering if I could talk to you about something," Rinoa said nervously, adjusting her bracelet.

Seifer nodded to show her that he was listening.

Rinoa fidgeted nervously.

"Um…in private…"

Seifer looked at her confused, but followed her through the crowd. He suddenly paused before they reached the balcony. Seifer stared at the spiky haired male standing a few metres away from him, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Hey, who is that guy?" he asked Rinoa.

Rinoa followed his gaze and smiled.

"That's our flatmate, Zell Dincht."

Seifer furrowed his eyebrows.

"How long has he been living with you?"

Rinoa tilted her head to the side thoughtfully.

"Hmm…it's been exactly 5 weeks."

Seifer muttered something underneath his breath which sounded very close to, "That cheeky little bastard."

Rinoa studied him curiously.

"Is something wrong, Seifer?"

Seifer awoke from his daze and shook his head.

"No, everything's fine. Let's go outside now."

The two of them walked the rest of the way to the balcony, where a gentle breeze was currently blowing.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Rinoa asked rhetorically, referring to the view.

Seifer silently watched her, his mind elsewhere as Rinoa slowly turned to look up at him. Her stomach was jumping around and she was starting to feel sick.

"So, don't you want to know why I asked to talk to you?"

"Sure."

Rinoa took a deep breath and cleared her throat. She hoped that Seifer would appreciate the fact that she was making the first move.

"Um…er, well….Seifer Almasy…I love you."

Seifer wrinkled his brow.

"What?"

"I love you," Rinoa said much more clearly this time.

She looked into Seifer's bright green eyes, waiting for him to declare his love for her. She waited and waited but the response never came.

"Seifer…?" she prompted, something tugging at her heart.

Seifer looked away and shrugged his wide shoulders.

"Rinoa, I thought we were friends."

Rinoa looked away as her eyes welled up with tears.

"We are," she whispered.

"Then why do we need all this commitment between us. I've never looked at you in that way. How could you mistake my sympathy for love?"

"Sympathy…" she said, unable to stop the flood of tears from falling down her pale face.

"Yes, sympathy. I'm sorry if you got the wrong idea, but I'm not interested in you. You're really not my type…."

Rinoa's eyes glazed over and her temper rose to the surface.

"Get lost! Go away! I never want to see you again!" she cried, pushing him as hard as she could.

Seifer looked fleetingly at her before he turned and walked back into the noise of the party. Rinoa cried out in anguish and gripped the railing of the balcony before she slid down onto the cold cement, sobbing her heart out.

-----

Squall glared at the drunken girl who was clinging onto him. He hated it when girls smothered him, especially when they were drunk.

"Look," he said, pushing her off him for the tenth time, "I don't think we used to go to school together."

"Of course we did, Nate," the girl slurred.

Squall rolled his eyes.

"And stop calling me Nate. That's not my name."

The girl looked appalled.

"Nate! When did you change your name?"

Squall sighed and pushed her off for the eleventh time.

"Look, I'm gonna go outside for a while and don't even think about following me."

Squall moved away from the cluster as the girl attached herself to some other guy.

"NATE, YOU DYED YOUR HAIR!"

Squall noticed the balcony, and headed towards it hoping that no one would be there. Unfortunately, a dark haired girl was sitting on the ground with her head buried in her lap.

At the sound of his footsteps, she looked up and Squall realised that it was Rinoa. For a moment, the two of them looked at eachother in silence before Rinoa spoke.

"So you've come to jeer at my misfortune."

"…."

"I hope you're enjoying seeing me like this. You've wanted nothing but to see me down trodden and depressed."

"…."

Rinoa shakily got to her feet.

"Since the day I met you, I've had nothing but bad luck, DO YOU KNOW THAT?"

Squall ran a hand through his hair and wished that he was somewhere else.

"Do you think that messing up your hair will fix up everything?" Rinoa demanded, "Well, guess what? I don't care that you're _Squall Leonhart_!"

"…."

"DON'T STAND THERE STARING AT ME…YOU!"

Squall sighed and pocketed his hands.

"What do you want me to do? Yell at you too, so that there isn't even any reason to try and work through this?"

Rinoa walked forward until she was inches within him. She could feel the heat radiating from his lean, tanned body and decided that taking a step back would be a bit more appropriate.

"IT IS YOUR FAULT! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! I HATE YOU SO MUCH THAT WORDS JUST CAN'T EXPLAIN IT!"

Squall was stung by her harsh words, but he tried to keep himself calm.

"I HATE EVERYTHING! I HATE MY LIFE!" Rinoa cried, a new wave of tears streaming down her face.

Squall stared at her in alarm.

"Hey, are you ok?" he asked, reaching out to touch her arm.

Rinoa stumbled back in disgust.

"Don't you dare touch me, you filth!"

This time Squall did feel hurt, and he decided that returning to the party would be the better option.

-----

_Squall Leonhart was reduced to tears yesterday as a mob of crazed fans chased him through the Galbadian shopping district. Amongst his admirers, a hopeful Rinoa (surname unknown) was spotted eagerly trying to make her way to Leonhart. Though Leonhart will not admit it, Rinoa's shining eyes were enough to prove the pair's passion for eachother. The highly stuck up Leonhart has still not made a public apology to the devastated girl. Leonhart was unavailable for comments._

Squall calmly read the newspaper and then threw it aside. He was angered beyond anything but still managed to keep a collected exterior, which at this moment Irvine was admiring.

"Well, I told you that you still had to apologise to her," Irvine said.

Squall nodded.

"I'm ready to apologise to her."

Seifer and Irvine both stared at him, their mouths slightly open.

"Wait, did I hear right? Puberty boy's gonna apologise?"

Squall merely glanced in Seifer's direction before looking at Irvine again.

"That's great, Squall. Ok, I've gotta think of the right way to plan this out…"

"No, I want to do it myself…"

There was silence.

"Squall, do you even know how to apologise to a person…?" Seifer wondered.

Squall shot Seifer a look that would've chilled anyone to the bone. However, by now Seifer was well acquainted with Squall's 'death glare' and merely shrugged it off.

"Ya sure you can do this?" Irvine queried.

Squall nodded, and Seifer snickered on his way to pick up the mail. The uppermost letter was labelled to Squall with a 'Private & Confidential' seal on the front.

Seifer headed back to the other two and threw Squall's letter at his head.

"Who the hell is sending you private and confidential letters?"

"None of your business," Squall retorted, getting up and walking into his room before he locked the door.

He didn't want either Seifer or Irvine finding out who these letters were from or what they contained. If anyone did find out, he'd have a lot to answer for.

Sitting down on his bed, he ripped the envelope open as photo after photo tumbled out.

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews guys! You guys are brilliantly fantastic! Hmm...what an interesting life Squall leads. This chapter was supposed to end differently with Seifer and Irvine but I thought ending it with Squall was a nice note. Well, now that Squall is ready to apologise to Rinoa dearie,I wonder who'll convince Rinoa to accept the apology...? Hmm...very, very interesting. :P

Isn't it sweet how Squall and Rinoa both like admiring wedding costumes...:)

Anyways, I love my reviewers. You guys rock! Please review if you haven't already done so. I'd appreciate it heaps. Thankies. :)


	7. Fired Friend

**The Ironic Things in Life**

**Disclaimer:**We're off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz...and I don't own the Wizard of Oz song either!

---

Squall Leonhart's face was covered in a half bemused smile as he stared at all the photos littered across his bed.

Zell was doing a great job.

-----

Three young women and a young man all sat bunched around together, as one of the women sobbed loudly.

"Hush, Rin…" Quistis Trepe comforted.

"I was such an idiot! I…I…" Rinoa Heartilly bawled.

"Forget about him, Rin! Who likes blondes anyway?" Rinoa's energetic friend, Selphie Tilmitt pointed out.

Quistis shot Selphie a deadly look.

"I _happen_ to be blonde Selphie, if you hadn't noticed."

Selphie looked at Quistis as if really seeing her for the first time.

"You're right! You are!"

Selphie clasped her hands together and went back to comforting Rinoa, as Quistis rolled her eyes and glanced over at Zell.

"And Zell is too…Zell, you're awfully quiet. Is something the matter?"

Zell's head shot up as if he'd been stung, and shook his head vigorously.

"F-fine…."he mumbled.

Another wail from Rinoa caused Quistis to turn back to her upset friend.

"Rinoa, it was probably for the best. He seemed a bit arrogant anyway," Quistis said.

"And any guy who doesn't like our Rinny is a major dunderhead!" Selphie chimed in.

Rinoa smiled and let Quistis and Selphie pull her into a hug.

'It probably was for the best,' she thought.

-----

Seifer dropped down on the couch opposite Squall and propped his feet up on the coffee table, a smirk playing on his lips.

Squall didn't respond to the accompaniment of his friend, and merely continued to stare at the carpeted floor, deep in thought.

"Hey Squall, do you remember a guy named Zell we used to go to Balamb Garden with…?"

Squall snapped his head up and met Seifer's bottle green eyes. He quickly looked back down at the floor.

"…"

Seifer smiled slyly. Even though Squall hadn't said anything, he knew that he was catching onto something big.

"Hmm…I wonder whatever happened to him after we graduated. You two were pretty good friends and I remember he was very fond of investigating…"

"…"

"You know, it'd be completely easy to recognise him. I mean, how many guys have we met in our lifetime that have spiky blonde hair and a tattoo down the side of their face…?"

"…"

"So, what do you think happened when I met Rinoa's new flatmate …?"

Squall abruptly stood up and headed towards his room, feeling uneasy about Seifer's line of questioning. However, Seifer had reached the entrance of Squall's room before Squall could do so, and stood there with a nasty grin on his face.

"Get out of my way..." Squall muttered.

Seifer ignored Squall's remark, and smugly folded his arms across his chest.

"And you won't believe it! He looked exactly like chicken wuss and his name was even Zell! What a coincidence, don't you think?"

Squall avoided Seifer's piercing eyes for as long as he could, and then glanced up.

"What are you trying to imply, Seifer?"

Seifer sneered and leaned closer.

"What am I supposed to imply?"

"…"

"And you know, the strangest thing was that Zell had been living in the same apartment as Rinoa for 5 weeks….hmm… isn't that strange now…?"

"What are you saying, Seifer?" Squall demanded.

Seifer pushed a finger into Squall's chest, avoiding all pretence.

"You planted Zell there so he could spy on Rinoa, didn't you?"

Squall threw Seifer an icy glare.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Seifer shoved Squall so hard that Squall actually stumbled backwards.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about! Zell's working for you! But why you'd want to spy on Rinoa…"

Seifer's eyes widened as realisation hit him.

"I don't believe this..." he whispered, as Squall straightened himself up only to be pushed by Seifer again.

"What the hell is your problem?" Squall yelled.

"I can't believe you! You're spying on Rinoa so that you could…oh my god! The party…the accident! It was all planned! It was YOU!"

Seifer pointed a finger at his best friend, not believing what he was discovering by Squall's silence.

Seifer walked around in a circle, holding his head.

"Why couldn't I see it? Why was I so blind! You planned EVERYTHING! You've been toying with Rinoa!"

Squall looked away from the angry young man pacing in front of him.

Seifer stopped and turned on Squall again, completely livid.

"You're exactly like Laguna! This is what he did and it was the death of her!"

Seifer grabbed Squall by the collar of his leather jacket and shook him furiously. Squall wrenched Seifer's hand off him and stood back, glaring at him.

"That's it, Seifer! You're fired! Go live somewhere else! I don't care!"

Seifer took a breath and let it out.

"You know what? Save it, Squall."

Seifer marched into his room and grabbed a suitcase, throwing in it everything he could get his hands onto. Minutes later he stormed out of his room and confronted Squall again.

"Well, I guess this is it and since I no longer work for you, here's a good bye present…"

Seifer raised his fist and punched Squall hard against the bridge of the nose. Squall tumbled backwards as he felt the impact of the attack hit him.

"That was for cheating off my gunblade assignment at school."

With that, Seifer walked out.

-----

Squall retrieved the envelope full of photos from his room and sat down on the couch with them. If Seifer had found out about this, he probably would've lost it completely.

Squall pulled out the only note that was amongst the photos and read it again, thoughtfully. It was a big problem, but what could he do to help? He couldn't just sit still. He had to do something.

Deciding that he was doing the right thing, Squall reached towards the phone.

"_Estharian Presidential Residence, how may I help you?"_

"Hey, it's Squall. Get me Kiros Seagill on the phone."

"_Wouldn't you like to talk to your father, Squall?"_

"God damnit, Xu! Are you deaf?"

"_Ok, ok just a second."_

An instrumental version of 'Eyes on me' played as Squall waited for Kiros to answer his private phone.

"_Kiros Seagill."_

"Kiros, I need your help."

Over in Esthar, Kiros wished he really had gone on vacation rather than help Squall.

-----

Irvine stared at Squall, completely gob smacked.

"You kicked Seifer out…?"

Squall nodded.

Irvine watched as Squall straightened up the bandage smacked across his nose. He bet anything that Seifer had done that to Squall.

"W-why?"

Squall glanced up lazily at the indigo eyed man towering over him.

"He was asking for it."

Irvine sighed and leaned against the wall. Seifer really got on his nerves but he didn't hate him. And Squall wasn't a guy who you could really provoke. Then how had Seifer gotten himself fired…?

Irvine looked over at Squall again.

"Where do you think he went?"

Squall shrugged.

Irvine wondered if Seifer had gone to stay at a friend's place.

'I could run a background check on him and find out if he's got any friends in Galbadia. I have to find out why Squall kicked him out.'

"Squall, I'm going out for a while. I've got some stuff to do. And don't forget that the premiere of your movie is coming up soon and you need a date."

Irvine walked out of the apartment, leaving Squall in silence.

"Damn," he muttered after a while.

-----

Irvine fiddled with his cell phone and finally found the number for Esthar's Presidential Residence. He quickly pressed the phone against his ear and waited for someone to pick up.

"_Estharian Presidential Residence, how may I help you?"_

"Xu, it's Irvine. I need your help."

"_Look at who's too busy to take me out on a date but isn't too busy to ask for help."_

"Xu, I only met you like once when you came here with Laguna! And I never came to Esthar."

"_I'm sure you could've made time, cowboy."_

Irvine groaned inwardly and clicked his fingers in agitation.

"I promise if you help me, I'll take you out on a date if I ever come to Esthar."

"_Are you sure about that?"_

"Yes! I'm sure!' Irvine cried, causing passer bys to jump out of his way.

"_No need to shout, cowboy. So tell me what you want me to do."_

"I need you to fine out if Seifer Almasy has any friends in Esthar."

"_Seifer Almasy? But…"_

"Yes, Seifer Almasy! Hurry it up, Xu. It's urgent!"

"_Now, I like a man who knows what he…"_

"God damnit, Xu! Are you deaf?" Irvine cried.

-----

Rinoa sat in front of the TV with a tub of chocolate chip ice cream watching 'Terry Shrink'. Her depression over Seifer had almost left her and she was feeling a lot better.

Selphie had gone out early in the morning to do some shopping, and Quistis was at work. Zell was the only one left at home with her. If Rinoa had only known why Zell had really moved in with them, she would've jumped up in fear at the sight of him carrying a butcher knife towards her. Instead, she carelessly glanced towards him.

"What are you doing, Zell?"

"Just going to cut the lamb chops," he said, heading towards the kitchen.

Rinoa got up and followed him, realising that it had been a long time since she had talked to Zell own her own.

As Zell sat down on the kitchen table and started chopping up the meat, Rinoa scrambled up onto the kitchen counter and watched him.

"Are you ok about the Seifer thing?" Zell broke the silence.

Rinoa swung her feet and nodded.

"I guess he wasn't the right guy for me."

"Yeah, he's an arrogant jerk," Zell accidentally said out loud.

Rinoa chuckled and tucked her black hair behind her ear.

"You sound like you know him very well," she teased.

"That's the unfortunate part of it."

Rinoa stared at him.

"You mean, you really do know him?"

"We used to go to school together"

"Then that must mean you know Squall too."

Zell looked at her in alarm, fearing that he had been caught out.

"W-what do you mean?"

"Oh, it's just that Seifer told me that he went to the same school as Squall. Then he turned out to be Squall's best friend. I hope the same doesn't go for you too," Rinoa said with a laugh.

Zell's face turned a dark shade of red, and he hurriedly looked away from Rinoa and resumed chopping up the lamb chops.

"I don't remember a Squall from school. Guess I was lucky," Zell lied.

Rinoa nodded and scratched her nail polish off.

"I won't accept it," she said softly.

"Accept what?"

"_If_ he ever apologises, I won't accept it."

"How come?"

"Because I hate him with every grain in my body."

Zell remained silent, not really knowing what to say. Rinoa smiled at him.

"You know Zell, you're the best friend a girl could ever ask for."

Zell fumbled around with the butcher knife and was just about to confess to his crimes when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Rinoa said, jumping off the counter and hurrying towards the front door.

"Did Selphie forget her keys again?" Rinoa called back to Zell.

"Dunno!"

Rinoa fiddled with the lock on the door and opened it up. Standing in front of her were too very familiar men.

"Why, look at little miss Rinoa," one of the men said with a grin.

Rinoa's jaw dropped open.

**A/N: **I hope this doesn't count as a late update. Sometimes I don't feel like getting around to the story because I don't think I have enough material for a suitable chapter. Before I write, I like to picture all the scenes in my head and make sure that certain things don't come out sounding strange from the characters. I also had my boyfriend type up this chapter, so it took longer than usual. I hope you all had a great Christmas. I got the Green Day album 'American idiot' so I'm listening to it as I type this bit up. Thanks for your awesome reviews, and I hope a lot more of you start reviewing. :)

* * *

**Cerulean Crystal: **Nope, for your sake Seifer and Irvine decided not to turn gay. Yeah, I thought Seifer was long overdue for a good ass kicking. Sorry I forgot to hint what Rinoa's letter's about. It just didn't seem to fit in at the time that I was writing it out, but in the upcoming chapters there'll be hints on it.

**Verdanii:** Thanks for telling me Seifer's eye colour. I'd really forgotten what colour they were.And I'm sure Seiferbooboo loves you too-too. :)

**Sense of Life:** Yes, poor Squally, indeed! Stranger things are about to happen.

**Windsiren:** I love you too! Don't worry, I'll keep on writing. I'm glad you're finding the story funny and that watching Seifer getting beaten up was to your liking. Maybe Zellie is a pervert...who knows...? More on Squall and Rinoa's letters in the upcoming chapters. :)

**Cheerioaddict13:** Glad you find it so hilarious. Yeah, I kinda feel sorry for Rinoa too. Poor thing...

**foxy:** Updates are on their way!

**SilverRe:** Thanks! I'll try to update a but faster. :)

**Rez:** Exactly! The mystery is killing me too:P

**Luis:** Squall will probably apologise in a good old fashioned Squall way...but it's really to see if Rinoa will accept the apology or not.

Thanks for reviewing, guys. You all made my day. Keep up the reviewing and I'll keep up the updating. Love you guys:)


	8. Quistis' Suspicions

**The Ironic Things in Life**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy...but I do own this story...so good for me!**

---

Irvine Kinneas hurried towards the apartment that Xu had given him the address to. If Seifer wasn't there then there was no telling where else he'd be. And he had to get to Seifer and ask him exactly why Squall's nose was tilted at a 30 degree angle.

Irvine hurried up the front steps and pressed the doorbell of the old fashioned townhouse which apparently belonged to Seifer's two friends.

A minute later, the door opened and a woman with short grey hair and an eye patch over her eye, appeared at the door.

"WHAT?"

Irvine jumped back in surprise and almost fell down the steps that he had just clambered up. He quickly straightened himself up and swallowed as the woman's single eye followed his movements.

"Uh…"

"She said what do you want, ya know? Not hard to understand, ya know? You aren't the postman are ya?"

A young man had appeared behind the woman. He had black hair, brown skin and was very muscular. The young woman turned around and kicked the man, who leapt back in pain.

"Ya, sorry, ya know? 'Course he's not the postman."

Irvine raised an eyebrow at the strange pair and cleared his throat.

"I'm looking for Seifer Almasy. Is he here…?"

"NO."

Irvine flinched and tried again.

"Are you sure? Because the people who live here are supposed to be his…"

"NO."

Irvine's eardrums pounded at her raised voice.

"She said no, ya know? Not hard to understand, ya know? We don't know any Seifer, ya know?"

Irvine rolled his eyes.

"Well, if Seifer isn't here then I'm looking for Fujin and Raijin."

"We're Fujin and Rai…"

The woman turned around and kicked the man again.

"OW! What was that for? Oh, right. We don't know any Fujin and Raijin."

The man folded his arms across his chest as if to challenge Irvine to disagree.

"But you just said…"

"Slip of the tongue, ya know? Happens, ya know?"

"Who are you idiots talking to…?"

Another voice came from between the man and woman, and Seifer _sneered _his way past them to be met with the sight of Irvine.

"Why if it isn't Kinneas. What do you want…?"

Irvine took off his hat and fixed his indigo eyes onto Seifer.

"I need to talk."

"Come in, then," Seifer said, turning on Fujin and Raijin, "And why the hell didn't you idiots let him in?"

Fujin hung her head as Raijin fumbled around for an apology.

"S-sorry, boss….ya know…"

"SHUT UP!"

-----

Rinoa simply stared as one of the young men ran a hand through his brown hair. Both of the men were wearing Galbadian body guard uniforms which meant that they worked for an important member of the Galbadian military.

Rinoa bit her lip, in an attempt to stop a flow of tears falling down her face.

"What do you two want?"

"Well we were sent by…"

"I know very well who sent you! Get to the point!" Rinoa interrupted.

The man swallowed and jammed a hand through his hair again, as the second man turned red.

"We heard you'd gotten yourself into a spot of trouble…"

Rinoa scowled and placed her hands on her hips.

"Oh, yeah? What kind of trouble?"

"Well, apart from getting embarrassed in the papers and all…" the second man blurted out.

Rinoa glared at him.

"Oh, so you've been following the papers, have you?" she accused.

The first man shook his head furiously.

"N-no, nothing like that. But it's been giving you a bad name. It's lucky that they haven't found out who your parents are."

"You mean who my parents were. My parents are dead."

The second man shook his head.

"No, according to my information, your mother died 15 years ago but your father is still…"

Rinoa glared at him again.

"We all know that you idiot! God! Especially you traitors!"

The first man nervously clutched his stomach.

"Well, we've been sent to ask you if you need help."

Rinoa stared at the both of them stubbornly.

"And why didn't _he _come himself?"

The second man fidgeted with his collar uneasily.

"Well, maybe because you've announced him as dead."

Rinoa made a little noise to let them know that she was getting irritated.

"How did you find out? Oh, I get it! You're having me followed, aren't you?"

The first man shook his head again.

"No one's been following you from our side. Someone phoned up and told us about it. He wouldn't say who he was, but he said you're in big trouble."

Rinoa's brow wrinkled. Who else would know about the letter…?

-----

Irvine sat nervously on a chair, and waited for Seifer to come back downstairs. Raijin sat opposite Irvine, and carefully watched him just in case he turned out to be a threat after all.

"TEA?"

Irvine really did hurt himself this time, as he tried to jump up but ended up overturning his chair.

Fujin stared down at where he lay on the floor.

"FREAK."

"She thinks you're a freak, ya know? No offense or anything but I agree, ya know?"

Irvine groaned and slowly rose to his feet, his head pounding.

"How long is Seifer gonna take?"

Raijin shrugged.

"Come with me, I'll take you upstairs to his room."

Irvine happily agreed to this and followed Raijin up the stairs and down the hall to where Seifer's room was.

"Seifer?" Raijin called, knocking on the door.

"What?" Seifer asked, opening the door, "Oh, Irvine. I was just about to come downstairs. Well, maybe it'd be better if we talked in private."

Seifer glanced pointedly at Raijin who finally got the idea and headed back downstairs to Fujin.

"WHERE, SEIFER?"

"He stayed upstairs with that Irvine guy, ya know? Said something about talking in private."

"PRIVATE?"

Raijin shrugged.

"I don't know everything, ya know?"

-----

"Something's going on."

Selphie looked over to where Quistis was perched on the sofa, looking extremely tense. Rinoa and Zell had both gone out this time, and these two were left on their own.

"What do you mean?" Selphie asked.

Quistis shook her head and then rubbed the side of her neck.

"Did Zell ever give you a memorabilia…?"

Selphie paused thoughtfully and then shook her head.

"Nope, not as far as I can remember. A memorabilia as in what exactly…?"

"You know, a bunch of photos of us."

Selphie shook her head again.

"No, he didn't."

"Then where did all the photos go…? He said he was going to give them to you for a birthday present." Quistis wondered.

"What photos?"

"Zell was in Rinoa's room one night and when he came out, he had a camera in his hand."

Selphie tapped her fingers against the side of her face.

"Maybe he forgot…"

"I really don't see how he could possibly forget. He even took my photo."

Selphie's eyebrows shot up as an insane idea wormed itself into her head.

"Maybe he's a secret investigator out to spy on us!"

Quistis sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I really doubt that, Sef. But I wonder why he was taking photos of Rinoa? And where did they all go?"

"Maybe they turned out really bad and he threw them out."

"Maybe…" Quistis repeated, a faraway look entering her sky blue eyes.

If only the two women knew how close Selphie's guess had been, they would've started searching Zell's room right away.

-----

Zell gulped as his cell phone rang, and he hurriedly answered it.

"Hello?"

"_It's me. I fired Seifer."_

"What? Why?"

"_He found out about you. What else was I supposed to do?"_

Zell anxiously glanced around, making sure that there was no one around that he knew.

"_I tipped them off about the letter…"_

"I know. They came over this morning and left with Rinoa."

"_Good. Now Zell, I want you to keep the girls in the dark for as long as you can. Make sure that none of them know what you're really doing there."_

Zell took a deep breath.

"Squall, I don't know how much longer I can do this for."

"_What?"_

"It's just that those girls are so nice and…"

"_Zell, we've been friends for ages. Make sure you know where your loyalty lies."_

"Why don't you just tell Rinoa the truth?" Zell demanded.

"_We've gotten in too deep to back out now. What would she think when she found out…"_

Zell gulped and realised that Squall was right. It didn't matter that Seifer had figured out their plan. The important thing was that they got it over and done with.

"_I have to go now. Irvine should be back soon."_

Zell hung up and walked down the straight path of the local park, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his baggy jeans. It had been almost three months ago that Squall had come to Balamb and approached him with a business deal that he couldn't refuse.

"_Zell Dincht?"_

_Zell turned around and stared at the young man standing in front of him donned in black. _

"_Yo, Squall! How's it going?"_

_Squall nodded in reply._

"_Remember how I told you that your investigating skills would come in handy one day?"_

_Zell nodded as he paid for his Balamb fish roll and took a huge bite._

"_Well, this is it. I need you to investigate someone in Galbadia."_

"_Who?" Zell inquired._

"_Her name's Julia Caraway and she's married to General Caraway. Find out how she's connected to my father. And here's a photo."_

_Squall handed Zell a photo of a woman with short dark brown hair who is standing next to a laughing Laguna. Also in the photo, is a much younger version of Squall who isstanding next to a dark haired girl about the same age as him._

_Zell downed his fish roll._

"_Don't worry, Squall. I'll find out everything."_

_-----_

"Seifer…"

"_What?"_

"Why did Squall kick you out?"

There was a sigh on the other end of the line, as Seifer Almasy wished he had never given Quistis his cell number.

"_It doesn't matter why. He just did."_

Quistis massaged her forehead as Selphie pressed her ear closer to the phone.

"When can I meet up with you?"

"_Tomorrow…6 pm at the new Esthar restaurant that opened in the shopping district."_

"Ok, bye Seifer."

Quistis hung up and rested the phone against her chin.

"You know Rin's gonna freak when she finds out you've been talking to Seifer…?" Selphie asked, resuming her seat opposite Quistis.

"I think Rin needs to grow up," Quistis stated, just as Rinoa walked into the lounge room.

Selphie quickly jumped up.

"Hey, Rin!"

Rinoa smiled weakly.

"Guys, I've got something important to tell you," she said, wringing her hands together.

"What it is, Rinoa?" Quistis asked, noticing Rinoa's anxiety.

"I'm leaving this weekend. I'm going to stay at my father's place for a while."

-----

"Alright, I'll see you soon, Seifer," Irvine said, walking down the stairs of Raijin and Fujin's townhouse.

"See ya, Kinneas. Fujin, see him outside. It's only polite that you entertain your guests properly," Seifer said with a sneer, heading back up to his room.

Irvine stared in alarm at the grey haired woman and waited as she opened the door and waited for him to step outside. Irvine wondered if he should say something to her or just leave out of fear. Deciding that it'd be rude to go away quietly, he turned to face her just as she slammed the door in his face. Irvine blinked and could vaguely hear Fujin's voice.

"RAGE!"

Shaking his head at the oddity of the woman, he hurried down the front steps and almost collided with a young woman. The woman stared at him for several seconds, before hurrying into the townhouse next door.

"God, strange people live in this neighbourhood," he muttered.

**A/N:** Thanks for your reviews, guys. It really helps me decide what to put into each chapter and also gives me an idea on what parts of the story you like. I know a lot of you like the humour so there'll be more humour coing up sooner or later. I sort of need to get into the pace of things and think of something particularly funny to put in.

Now, before I forget, thanks again to my reviewers. You guys review so fast! Thankies! I hope you all continue reviewing. :)

* * *

**Luis**

**ElvenHorse**

**Windsiren**

**Squallsgurlygurl**


	9. Rinoa's Memory

**The Ironic Things in Life**

**Disclaimer: I'm tired of repeating this...but for the fear of getting sued, I'll keep on saying it! It's not mine!**

**Edit in chap 8:** The first thing that I changed is the thing about Squall hiring Zell **two** months ago. It's now been changed to **three** months ago. Also, I put in Julia's surname as **Heartilly**. I've changed that to **Caraway**. And there's just a slight change in the way Squall was standing with Rinoa in the photo. But only my most dedicated readers would notice these things. :)

---

Raindrops fell from the sky, connecting up with eachother and then finally landing onto ground into tiny pools that grew larger with each drop. However, things like that never interested Seifer Almasy and instead he engraved his initials in different styles onto the wood panelled wall with his gunblade.

'Squall came to Galbadia two months ago with me and Laguna to shoot that stupid movie,' Seifer thought, 'Squall had a fight with Laguna and stayed on in Galbadia with me and Irvine."

Seifer recalled the eventful night two months ago that had followed Laguna's cancellation of his movie.

"_Squall, be reasonable," Laguna pleaded._

"_Reasonable! The only reasonable thing is that my father's a complete moron!" Squall yelled._

"_Squall, don't say that. Just come home with us," Laguna begged._

_Squall shook his head._

"_You killed her! You killed my mother!"_

_Laguna sighed._

"_Squall, please don't bring this up again. There was nothing I could do."_

"_You abandoned her!"_

"_Squall, I…"_

"_Don't lie! I know everything!"_

_Laguna glanced around the room and met Seifer's eyes in desperation._

"_Seifer, make him understand! There was nothing I could do about Raine!"_

_Seifer walked over to Squall and placed a hand on his shoulder._

"_Let it go, Squall and let's go home to Esthar."_

_Squall shook his head stubbornly._

"_No, I'm not going back to Esthar! I hate Laguna! He betrayed my mother for Julia!"_

_Squall ran out of the apartment and Seifer glanced at Laguna curiously._

"_Julia…? Who's Julia…?"_

_Laguna just shook his head and sighed._

Seifer continued to scratch away at the wall and paused for a brief second.

'Who was Julia…? If I can just find that much out, I'll have everything else figured out.'

-----

Irvine walked along the busy street of the Galbadian shopping district. He knew exactly what he was looking for, but was a little scared to actually go and buy it. For the seventh time, he walked past 'Yuna's Boutique' and almost kicked himself for not going inside.

"Pull yourself together, Irvine," he muttered to himself, but walked past the boutique again without going in.

'Imagine the good that will come out of this. Yeah, I'm doing this for the good of someone else, and possibly for the good of mankind.'

Irvine straightened up at the thought.

'And I'll probably go down in history as the extremely attractive cowboy who was never afraid to get in touch with his feminine side.'

Irvine sauntered towards the boutique again.

'And then there'd be the ladies of course. Oh yeah, the hot lil' ladies.'

A low whistle escaped Irvine's lips as he pushed open the boutique's door and walked into the shop.

'And imagine Sefie gazing up at me with her bright eyes and telling me what a hunk I am. Yeah, that's it. I'm so gonna do this.'

Irvine walked up to the counter and winked at the extremely attractive brunette standing there.

"_Hello_," he drawled, in his sexy western Galbadian accent.

The girl smiled slightly at the handsome man standing in front of her.

"How can I help you, sir?"

Irvine took his hat off and rested it on the counter, smiling in return.

"I was wondering if you could help me pick out a few dresses."

"For your girlfriend?" the girl enquired.

Irvine shook his head as he loosened a button on his shirt.

"No, for me."

-----

"Zellie, wait!" Selphie Tilmitt exclaimed.

Zell froze on his way to the front door at the sound of the tiny brunette's voice.

"Yeah…?"

Selphie quickly jumped off the sofa and hurried towards him.

"New rules! Everyone has to be inspected before they leave the apartment."

Selphie pulled something out of her pocket that frightfully resembled an iron poker. Zell jumped back in surprise and his body went rigid as he balled up his fists.

"…the HELL?"

Selphie smiled brightly as she waved it around proudly.

"TA DA!"

"What are we getting inspected for?" Zell dared to ask.

Selphie scratched her head as she pressed a little button on the handle that caused the tip of the poker to spark up.

"I saw on the news that people are getting Geezard droppings stuck to their skin and can cause a rash in the most obscene places, so I'm here to make sure that nothing comes in and nothing goes out!"

A crease appeared on Zell's forehead as he eyed the poker warily.

"And exactly what are you going to do with that thing…?"

Selphie hopped on one foot to the other impatiently.

"Why, jam it up your…"

The rest of Selphie's words were drowned out by Zell screaming.

"AAAH! QUISTIS, HELP!"

-----

It was 1 pm and Squall Leonhart was still in bed. He had had a fitful night of tossing and turning, and had decided sleeping in. Irvine's words also echoed in his mind.

"_And don't forget that the premiere of your movie is coming up soon and you need a date."_

Squall sighed. Who would want to go on a date with him…? Flashes of memory clouded his mind, and he recalled what had started this entire mess with Rinoa.

_Squall jogged down the street and towards the bus stand. He couldn't believe that he was finally free of Laguna, and had even managed to secure himself a role in a low budget with some unknown director. He even felt as if he had the whole of Galbadia to himself this early in the morning._

_His ears perked up at the sound of a cry, and he quickly pulled the hood of his jacket over his head. Just ahead, a girl was standing at the bus stand and had managed to drop everything from her purse onto the ground._

_Squall quickly slowed down and concealed himself in someone's driveway, as he watched the girl gathering up her things._

'_She's beautiful,' he thought._

_Dark hair fell down her face and chocolate coloured eyes complimented her pale skin. Squall didn't know why he felt so drawn to her. There was something surreal about her, but he couldn't put his finger on what that was exactly._

_As her bus arrived, the girl hurried onto it and Squall continued on his early morning jog._

_-----_

Quistis eyed herself in the long mirror as Zell held it for her.

"A little to the left, Zell…" she ordered, and Zell heaved the mirror in the direction that she had instructed.

"Are you done yet, Quistis…? My arms are about to fall off…" Zell whined.

"Patience, Zell," she said, leaning forward and applying some red lipstick to suit her figure hugging red dress.

Selphie was sitting on Quistis' bed, emitting little bounces on the mattress as she watched the gorgeous blonde getting ready.

"ZELL! YOU MOVED IT!" Quistis cried, causing Zell to turn red.

"I-I…"

Quistis furiously rubbed off the red lipstick that had stained her white teeth as Zell scratched his head.

"ZELL, STAND STILL!"

-----

Seifer actually smiled genuinely as he saw the leggy blonde sway into the restaurant and look around for him.

'Yow, she's a hot piece of ass,' he thought as Quistis Trepe slinked over to him.

"Hello, Seifer."

Seifer stood up and looked her up and down, admiring the way her dress clung to her perfect curves. He had never seen a more gorgeous woman in his life.

"Hey, Quistis," he leaned forward and planted a kiss on her cheek.

Quistis chuckled into her hand as Seifer continued to stare at her. The two blondes sat down and Quistis gazed into Seifer's green eyes.

"So, why did you move out?"

The spell between them broke in an instant, and an annoyed look took over Seifer's handsome face.

"God, I told you not to ask me that!"

"But I have to ask. So many things are going on and I can't make head or tail of them."

Seifer leaned across the table.

"Well you've gotta try harder. Don't trust anyone, not even your closest friends."

Quistis tilted her head slightly, anxiety creasing her smooth brow.

"I know," she whispered, "Zell…"

Seifer shook his head quickly.

"Not here! But all I'm going to say is that he's the likely suspect."

"The likely suspect to what, Seifer?"

Seifer played with the onyx stone ring on his finger and shook his head slowly.

"To a master scheme that I don't even understand yet."

-----

Rinoa clutched the photo to her chest, sobbing as she thought about the only memory of her mother she could remember thanks to this photo. Every single other photo of her mother had been burnt by her father but this was the only one that he hadn't known about. She closed her eyes tight, in hopes of seeing her mother more clearly.

"_Rinoa! Don't get too close to the road!" Julia Caraway cried, as Rinoa's soccer ball rolled away from the park and towards the busy Galbadian highway._

_Of course, Rinoa was too far way to make out exactly what her mother was saying, and she ran as fast as her chubby 5 year old legs could carry her towards her ball which was hurtling towards the road. Julia ran after her daughter but knew she wouldn't be able to reach the road in time._

"_Oopsie daisy," a tall man said, stopping the rolling ball and causing Rinoa to abruptly come to a halt and glare up at him._

"_Hey mister, that's my ball!" she exclaimed, staring up at him through her thick fringe._

_The man smiled goofily and handed it to her, just as Julia reached them, clutching her heart and completely out of breath._

"_Ria Caraway! Don't you ever think of doing that again! You gave mummy such a fright."_

_Rinoa ran into her mother's arms for comfort._

"_Sowwy, mummy," she said in her cute voice._

"_It's alright, Ria. Just don't…"_

"_Julia…?"_

_Julia jolted and quickly looked up at the man standing in front of her. Rinoa easily became distracted by her soccer ball and missed this part of the conversation._

"_Laguna…" she whispered._

_Laguna nodded and ran a hand through his long hair, than glanced back towards the way he had come as if searching for someone. His face relaxed as he saw the small boy walking towards him at a snail like pace and scowling as usual._

"_Hurry up, champ," he called out and Julia stared at the little boy, no older than Rinoa, who was the splitting image of Laguna._

"_Is he…?" she asked, holding a hand to her face._

_Laguna nodded brightly as the boy reached them._

"_Yes, this is my son."_

_Squall looked up at the dark haired woman in front of him as she leaned down and looked at him intently._

"_Hello, I'm Julia. What's your name, young man?"_

_Squall scowled and looked up at Laguna for directions. Laguna laughed and messed up the boy's hair._

"_Go on, you can tell Miss Heart…"_

"_Why do you always forget, Laguna? That's not my name anymore. It's Caraway now."_

_Laguna nodded as if to correct himself._

"_Yeah sorry, just haven't said your name for 6 years now. Guess I just forgot."_

_Julia bent down to look at Squall again._

"_Why don't you go over there and play with my daughter while I talk to your father?"_

_Julia pointed towards the solitary girl who was kicking a soccer ball further along the park as Laguna gave Squall a gentle push in her direction. Squall blinked and scowled before making his way towards the tiny girl at a sloth like pace._

_Laguna laughed and turned back to Julia._

"_He's a bit antisocial."_

_Julia smiled warmly and her chocolate coloured eyes lit up._

"_Reminds me so much of his father," she teased._

_Laguna laughed nervously and ran a hand through his hair again, as he felt a twinge in his leg._

"_So I heard you became the president of Esthar."_

_Laguna nodded in reply._

"_At least I can give Squall all the things I never had growing up."_

_Julia laid a hand on Laguna's arm._

"_And I heard about your…um…"_

"_That was a long time ago. Before Squall was born, and I'd rather leave it in the past."_

_Julia nodded in understanding._

"_And I heard about Raine too. I'm sorry."_

_Laguna simply nodded._

_Not far away, Squall had finally made it to the little girl who had been his destination. He stood there a while, staring at her before she took notice of him._

"_Hey! Where'd you come fwom?"_

_Squall looked back towards Laguna and Julia._

"_Oh, is that your daddy?"_

_Squall nodded. The girl stepped closer to him, studying his face with her large dark eyes._

"_I'm Ria, what's your name?"_

_Squall blinked at the sudden introduction and folded his little arms across his chest._

"_Not telling…" he muttered._

_Rinoa looked surprised at his reaction, but pushed it aside._

"_Wanna play?" she asked, holding up her soccer ball._

_Squall blinked and just stared. Rinoa leaned in closer to look at him properly._

"_Are you sad?"_

"…"

"_My mummy always gives me a hugsie when I'm sad."_

_Rinoa wrapped her arms around the boy, who backed away from her as if he'd been stung._

"_There you two are," Laguna said, as he and Julia walked over to the pair._

_Julia clasped her hands together._

"_Awe, Laguna don't they look adorable together?" she exclaimed, as Laguna laughed._

"…_I don't like girls…" Squall muttered, walking over to his father._

_Julia laughed and held out her hand for Rinoa to hold._

"_Don't worry, you will one day and I won't be surprised if it turns out to be my little Ria."_

_Laguna laughed at that and suddenly all four of them were blinded by two flashes of light. The local park photographer had unknowingly snapped their photos._

"_Take them for free," he said, handing one to Laguna and the other to Julia, "I've never seen a more perfect family."_

_As the photographer walked away, Laguna held out his hand for Julia to shake. Instead Julia leaned forward and planted a kiss on his cheek to which he blushed._

"_It was lovely to see you again," she said softly, as Squall scowled._

_Laguna only nodded, as his leg started to cramp up, and watched as Julia hurried away with her daughter, stuffing the photo into her purse._

"_Mummy, who was that?" Rinoa asked, as she ran to keep up with her mother's long strides._

"_Oh, just a man I used to know…" Julia replied and then whispered to herself, "…and love."_

"_Mummy! There's daddy!" Rinoa shrieked, racing at full speed towards her father who was leaning against their car._

_General Caraway crossed his arms so that Rinoa remembered to stop and not hug him._

"_What took you so long?" he asked Julia as she reached him._

"_N-nothing, Paul," she said, getting into the car._

_Rinoa scrambled into the back seat and pushed the girl already sitting inside._

"_Move over, sis!"_

Rinoa held the photo out in front of her eyes and wished she could remember who the boy was. In this photo he had his eyes closed and she couldn't really recognise him. Her eyes moved onto her mother Julia Heartilly, whose maiden name she had borrowed. There was no in the world that she had loved more.

"Mummy, I miss you," she whispered, tears sliding down her face.

* * *

A/N: Can't believe I'm already putting in the finishing touches to chapter 10 at this time. I was going to update with chapter 9 and 10 at the same time, but I thought that I'd wait for chapter 9 to get at least **10 reviews**. As soon as I get that amount, I'll update with chapter 10, and I don't care if it takes me another year to get 10 more reviews; I'll wait. :) 

This chapter mainly consisted of flashbacks, but I'd have to say that I loved Rinoa's one the best. Sorry it was so long though. Once I started on the relationship between Laguna, Julia, Rinoa and Squall I couldn't stop! They're just so sweet together.

And my worst fear would have to be Selphie playing around with something that dangerously resembled a cattle prod. :p

Well, it's about time I stop talking and start getting ready. I'm gonna go and watch 'King Kong'. Bai Bai, and enjoy reading. :)

And thanks to my reviewers too!

**Cerulean Crystal**

**Luis** (my forever faithful reviewer)

**PsychDragoonX**

**FinalBattle**

**shinigamilenne **(I hope I spelt that right)


	10. Seifer and Irvine

**The Ironic Things in Life**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Final Fantasy 8 characters, locations etc.**

**---**

Two tall women stumbled towards the Galbadian community centre. One of them was wearing a long flowing dress that had absurd portions of pink flowers blotched across it. She was also finding it difficult to stay upright due to the 5 inch heels attached to her shoes. The other woman had stretched a skimpy top across her chest and completed the look by wearing a skirt that had swirly patterns on it. Both of them had smeared a good portion of make up across their eyelids, lips and cheeks and scarily resembled Galbadian show girls. To put it in simpler terms, they looked like demented creatures of the night.

"ACK!" the one wearing the high heels said.

The other woman simply continued walking and cleared her throat for the drama about to unfold.

-----

Rinoa absent mindedly flicked through a pile of papers about all the people who had come to the centre to do community service. Next to her, Jessie was painting her fingernails and yawning every two seconds.

This was Rinoa's last day at work before she headed off to her father's place tomorrow and it was turning out to be the most boring day she'd ever had. No one had come in since the morning and Jessie had reported a fake fire so that a cute fireman could come and save them. However, the fireman had been old, fat and didn't seem to find it amusing that he had been summoned to a nonexistent fire.

Just at that moment, the front door banged open and two women walked in. Well one of them walked in, the other tumbled in. The woman, who was wearing a pink flowery dress, clung onto the other woman as if she was about fall over any at any moment.

Jessie stared at them, her mouth unconsciously open and Rinoa realised that she was gawking at them too. It wasn't because of their clothes; it was more to do with their makeup, which looked as if it'd been put on in the dark.

Rinoa quickly cleared her throat and blinked just to make sure that she wasn't delirious, and smiled brightly.

Jessie muttered something to herself which sounded close to, "Homeless, I think."

"How can I help you?" Rinoa asked politely.

The one with long blonde hair cleared her throat.

"I am Gespah and this is my companion…Felicia. We are travelling gypsies who are skilled in the art of palmistry. We seek to read the hand of beautiful young women such as yourself."

Rinoa leapt back and crashed into Jessie who spilt her bottle of nail polish all over the counter. However, Jessie wasn't complaining. She was too busy staring at the two women. Rinoa had leapt back because of the shrieking, high pitched sound that had come out of the woman's throat.

The two gypsies glanced at eachother quickly and Gespah cleared her throat.

"Um, pardon me. I…have an unfortunate cold," she said, her voice still very high.

Rinoa eyed them both warily and stepped forward to resume her place at the counter again.

"And I can help you how?" she asked, quickly glancing at Felicia who seemed to be scratching her bottom.

However, Felicia quickly snapped her hand away when she noticed Rinoa staring at her.

"We wanted to read your hand and tell you your fortune," Gespah explained, clearing her throat again to bring her voice down to a lower pitch.

Rinoa raised an eyebrow and was immediately shoved aside by Jessie who extended her right hand.

"Ok, what do you see in my future?" she demanded.

Gespah looked cynical.

"I did say beautiful young women."

Jessie's eyebrows shot up as she realised what the comment was supposed to actually mean.

"Wait, are you trying to say that I'm not beautiful?"

Gespah smirked at Felicia, but neither of them said anything. Jessie turned to look at Rinoa.

"Did they mean that I'm not…?"

Rinoa rolled her eyes and looked back at Gespah and Felicia.

"Will I do?" she asked, extending her hand carefully.

Gespah quickly grabbed her arm and Rinoa almost fell over in fright.

"You will do perfectly fine," Gespah cackled.

"Um, so what do you want me to do?" Rinoa asked nervously as Gespah stared at her hand.

"Nothing m'dear, just clear your mind and take deep breaths."

"Like you're pregnant," Felicia piped up, causing Gespah to shoot a glare at her accomplice.

Rinoa raised an eyebrow.

"Pregnant breathing?"

"It helps soothe the soul," Gespah hurriedly went on to explain.

Rinoa mutely nodded as she bit her lip. Slowly yet surely she was beginning to get drawn in by Gespah and Felicia's plan

-----

The two women staggered around the corner of the building, one of them almost tripping over.

"God damnit, Seifer!" _Felicia_ cried out.

Seifer Almasy, or _Gespah_, turned around and pulled the scarf off his head.

"What the fuck…? Just take the damn things off Kinneas!"

Irvine leaned against the wall, out of breath, and pulled off the high heels that he was wearing.

"You sucked, Almasy. Why the hell were you talking like that?"

"How the fuck am I supposed to know how fortune tellers talk!"

Irvine's rubbed the sole of his feet which had already become blistered.

"Almasy, if you ever make me do that again, I swear I'll strangle you with a hose!"

Seifer shrugged, and started wiping his make up off.

"Well at least we looked like women and not drag queens."

"Do you think we convinced Rinoa…?" Irvine asked.

A group of teenage boys walking down the street turned to whistle at Irvine.

"Hey, babe! You're looking hot!"

Irvine openly seethed with rage and threw his high heels at the boys who raced down the street in alarm.

Seifer snickered.

"Yeah, you sure got them convinced, Kinneas. I'll have to fight off mobs of boys seeking your heart."

Irvine let out a growl and launched himself onto Seifer.

-----

"Quistis?" Rinoa said, as the four housemates sat down for dinner.

"Yes?

"I was wondering…how much do you believe fortune tellers…?"

Selphie gobbled down her spaghetti strand with a slurp.

"I totally believe in them," she interrupted, "One predicted that I would wake up naked in a pile of dog droppings and it came…"

"Ok, ok. We get the point, Selphie," Quistis cut off, turning to Rinoa, "Well, logically I don't see how they can predict things that are going to happen, but then again, stranger things have happened."

Rinoa looked thoughtful, and then continued poking through her food.

"Why?" Zell wanted to know.

"Oh, it's just that today when I was at work these weird fortune tellers came in and said all this stuff…"

Quistis raised an eyebrow.

"What kind of stuff?"

Rinoa shrugged as she finally took a bite of her lasagne.

"They said that my life revolved around a dark haired man with storm coloured eyes. Gespah said that the man was desperately trying to seek forgiveness from me and that he would never be at peace until I sincerely accepted it."

There was silence as everyone realised who the dark haired man was.

"Definitely a Geezard!" Selphie exclaimed, causing everyone to stare at her.

"What?" Rinoa asked.

"Gespah….they're related to Geezards!"

"No Sef, Gespah's the fortune teller."

Comprehension dawned on Selphie and she set her mind to calculate some of natures other mysteries.

After a while Quistis spoke.

"Well, I do think you need to be much calmer about this whole apology thing. You really need to control your temper when you see Squall."

Rinoa sighed.

"Squall doesn't make it any easier. He's just so…."

"Titchy…?" Zell offered.

"Gay…?" Selphie suggested.

Rinoa rolled her eyes.

"It was gay wasn't it?" Selphie asked.

Rinoa laughed.

"No, he's just impassive, like he doesn't have any feelings."

Quistis nodded her head sympathetically.

"I can understand that, Rin. So what're you going to do with this piece of information?"

"Well…I guess I can talk to Squall and try to be a bit calmer about it, but if he even dares to blurt another arrogant thing out of his mouth I swear I'll send his dead body to Esthar!"

Zell quickly jumped up from the table.

"Just going to the toilet," he muttered, not noticing Quistis' suspicious gaze.

Quistis met Selphie's eye and slightly tilted her head in Zell's direction. Selphie silently nodded in response.

"I've just gotta go do something," she explained, jumping up from the table and hurrying after Zell.

Rinoa's brow wrinkled as she watched Selphie walk out of the room. There was something going on and clearly she wasn't getting clued in.

-----

"Squall…?" Zell asked.

"_What is it, Zell?"_

"Rinoa's gonna do it," Zell said excitedly, "She's gonna apologise!"

When Squall didn't say anything, Zell started to get worried.

"Squall? Squall, you still there?"

On the other side of the door, Selphie Tilmitt rubbed her hands together as her bright green eyes lit up. She hadn't heard the entire conversation but hearing Squall's name was enough to get her imagination into over drive. She couldn't wait to tell Quistis.

* * *

**A/N:** It's been such a long time! Nope, I haven't disappeared off the face of the planet...I went through an annoying few months of adjusting into a new school and doing homework, not to mention getting an internet ban for a month but now I'm back...for the mean time anyways.

This is just a shorter version of the original Chapter 10 that I was supposed to have posted up oh, 4 months ago...sorry! Which leads me onto apologising...I'm so sorry! I hope you like this chapter anyway and I promise you that the next chapter will be much longer and much better.

Now you know what Seifer was planning though...a little strange, disturbing but understandable. More on that in the next chapter.I know that sometimes things seem weird at first but trust me, there's always a reasonable explanation to them coming up. Well keep reading and reviewing.

And thanks to these reviewers.

**Cerulean Crystal**

**Shinigamilenne**

**Luis**

**Windsiren**

**Kim**

**FinalBattle**

**silverRe**

**ElvenHorse**

**WSecrets**


	11. Selphie's Disappearance

**The Ironic Things in Life**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 8 or any of its characters, names or locations.**

---

"To hell with your high heels, Almasy!" Irvine screeched as he threw the 4 inch shoes at Seifer's front door.

Irvine Kinneas was mad, and not just a little bit. He was beyond reasoning. He had spent three hours putting on make up, two hours rehearsing his girly walk and an hour doing his hair but now it was only taking him a couple of minutes to take off his clothes and accessories and throw them at Seifer's front door.

"I hate you! I hate you so much!" he roared, stepping back and almost knocking a young woman over.

The young woman yelped as Irvine's foot came down hard and stepped on her own.

"I'm so sorry," Irvine quickly apologised, thinking that his day really couldn't get any worse.

The young woman's eyes widened and she quickly hurried into the apartment building next door, her long brown hair flowing out behind her.

-----

Squall was the happiest he'd ever been in a long time. He couldn't believe that Rinoa was finally ready to accept his apology. This stupidness between them had lasted for too long. It was finally time to get it over and done with and just two days before the premiere of his movie too.

His mind instantly became clouded with the news that Zell had brought him two months ago about Julia Caraway and how this entire mess had actually even started.

"_Yo, Squall," Zell's voice said over the phone, "I really hate to tell you this…"_

"_What is it?" Squall asked, his body tensing up._

"_Well, Julia Caraway's dead…"_

"_What!"_

"_Yeah, she died 15 years ago, man. I'm really sorry."_

"_But couldn't you find out how she was connected to my father?"_

"_Sorry, I did the best I could but there just wasn't anything on her. The General's still alive though but I doubt he'd be much help."_

"_Thanks anyway, Zell."_

"_Yeah, it's ok. But I found out two other things…"_

"_What?" Squall questioned, his curiosity peaked._

"_Well, first off, Julia Caraway actually composed that hit song, 'Eyes on me'…"_

"_Laguna loves that song…" Squall muttered darkly._

"_And you know that little girl in the photo…? She's still alive but I did a background check on Rinoa Caraway but no such person exists."_

_Squall took a deep breath and let it out as something else came to mind. Something that he wanted Zell to find out…_

"_You did the best you could, Zell…"_

"_Yeah, but I am sorry I couldn't be of more help…"_

"_Well maybe you could help me with something else."_

"_What?"_

"_There's this girl that I see every morning and I just wanna know who she is…"_

"_Oooh! Squall's got a thing for a girly girl…" Zell teased._

"_Shut up! I just wanna know who she is!"_

"_Sure, Squall, sure…"_

Squall sighed as he remembered how upset he had been that day when he had found out that there seemed no possible link left to Julia Caraway anymore. But now because of Julia Caraway, he was in a mess that he couldn't seem to find any way out of.

-----

"Quisty, Quisty you won't believe what I heard!" Selphie squealed the minute that Rinoa and Zell had disappeared into their rooms after dinner.

"Wha…?"

Quistis' curiosity was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Who on earth is knocking at our door this late?" Quistis wondered.

Selphie shrugged.

"Want me to go check?"

"No, I'm the responsible adult here. I'll go check," Quistis declared, standing up and disappearing down the hallway.

"Tee hee hee!" Selphie squealed, "I can't wait to tell Quisty that Zell was talking to Squall!"

If Selphie had chosen to say that sentence a second later or in a quieter voice, perhaps she could've avoided what was about to happen to her, because standing right behind her was none other than Zell Dincht.

-----

"Yes, can I help you?" Quistis asked, warily eying the two men standing at the door.

The last thing she had expected to see were two men dressed in Galbadian body guard uniforms standing outside the front door of the apartment. She knew at once by their uniforms that they worked for an important member of the Galbadian military but couldn't understand what they were doing here.

"We're here for Rinoa Heartilly," one of them said.

Quistis raised an eyebrow.

"What for?" she enquired suspiciously.

Both of the men looked at eachother in confusion not really knowing what to say.

"Didn't Rinoa tell you, miss?" the other man asked.

"Tell me what?" Quistis asked.

"We're here to take her to her father," the first man answered.

"Yes, she did tell that she was going to her father's place, not that she was going to get mugged by people like you," Quistis snapped.

The first man coughed and seemed unnerved by Quistis' coldness.

"But we're her escort,' he said weakly.

"Why on earth would Rinoa need to be escorted by body guards who look like they work for some one in the military?" Quistis demanded, her eyes flaring up in annoyance.

She was really getting irritated by the stupidity of the body guards and didn't see it fit for Rinoa to be accompanied by them without her interrogating them thoroughly.

"Miss, don't you know who her father is?" the second man asked, flinching when Quistis turned to glare sharply at him.

"Who?"

The first man answered in disbelief.

"General Caraway…"

-----

"I can't find Selphie or Zell anywhere!" Rinoa exclaimed, as she shoved her bags into the two guards' arms.

"They were here just a second ago…" Quistis trailed off.

Rinoa shrugged as she adjusted her handbag.

"Well, I can't wait around forever. Maybe they both fell asleep or something. I'll call as soon as I get to the Presidential Residence, ok?"

"I can't believe you never told me who your father was!" Quistis scolded as she hugged Rinoa.

Rinoa shrugged again as she stepped out of the apartment.

"I don't consider him to be my father. My mum died when I was very young so I've sort of had to fend for myself ever since then. Luckily there've always been three very important people there for me."

"Who?" Quistis asked, curiously.

Rinoa glanced darkly at the two body guards who were a few metres away and had dropped her bags on the floor. One of them was bent over clutching his stomach as if in great pain and the other was stepping away waving his hands in protest.

"Unfortunately two of those three important people happen to be the two morons standing over there…..Zone and Watts."

-----

With a sigh, Quistis closed the door shut and then realised what Rinoa had said about Zell and Selphie's sudden disappearance. Without warning, she turned the corner into the kitchen and collided with Zell.

"Zell! Where have you been?" she demanded, "Rinoa just left. She's gone to her father's place."

"Uh…um, I was in the toilet…" he blurted out.

"And where on earth is Selphie…?"

"Oh…uh…she said that she was really tired. She's gone to bed."

"Really? But she was perfectly awake when I was talking to her ten minutes ago."

"Well, that's what she said and I wouldn't wake her if she's tired," Zell suggested.

"Alright, well I'm going to bed too," Quistis decided, "Night, Zell."

"Night. Uh…wait, didn't Rinoa say that she was ready to accept Squall's apology?" Zell questioned.

"Yeah."

"But she's gone now. How will he apologise?" Zell wondered out loud.

"How am I supposed to know, Zell? I guess it's just too bad for Squall…"

"But his movie premiere's on Sunday….if he doesn't apologise by then, then the media will eat him alive…" Zell muttered underneath his breath.

"What, Zell?"

"Uh, nothing…."

"Well, I'll see you in the morning…" Quistis said, walking off in the direction of her room.

That's when Zell panicked.

"Oh, god! Squall is going to kill me when he finds out that I let the target go! He fired Seifer, now he'll fire me too!"

-----

"Hello?" Squall said, as he answered his cell phone.

"_Hello, Squall?" _came Zell's anxious voice.

"Yeah, Zell?"

"_Um…."_

"Nothing's wrong is it?"

"_Well, it's about Rinoa…"_

"What happened?"

"_Um…uh…"_

"What did you do Zell!"

"_You know how you told General Caraway about Rinoa's letter…?"_

"Yeah…"

"_And you know how I said two of General Caraway's body guards came to talk to her…?"_

"Yeah…"

"_Well, they sorta…kinda…took her away."_

"…"

"_Squall…?"_

"Where did they go?"

"_She went to her father's place."_

"And where are you?"

"_I'm at the apartment…"_

"And why are you not following her?"

"_Uh…well, I have a small problem…"_

"…"

"_Squall…?"_

Squall heaved a sigh.

"What is it, Zell?"

"_I have a body to get rid off…"_

Squall's stomach instantly clenched.

-----

"Hello, hello, hello," Irvine drawled sexily as he answered his cell phone.

"_Pull yourself together, Kinneas,"_ a familiar voice scolded.

"Uh…Kiros?"

"_Praise your intelligence level,"_ Kiros retorted, _"I have a bone to pick with you."_

"What's the matter, Kiros?" Irvine asked, gulping at Kiros' stern tone.

"_What is your current occupation?"_

"Uh…personal assistant?"

"_So give me a good reason why Squall has been so shamed by the media when you're supposed to be making sure that he stays out of trouble!"_

"…I…uh…"

"_Don't forget Kinneas, there are many other people out there who actually have qualifications."_

"I know…"

"_I expect Squall's name to be cleared by his movie premiere. This isn't doing any good to Laguna's mood."_

"I understand, Kiros."

"_I hope I don't need to have this talk with you again. But be warned, if this situation gets any worse, I will have to have you replaced."_

"Yes, Kiros."

"_And Irvine?"_

"Yeah?"

"_Make sure you keep your pants on at all times…"_

-----

"We've gotta go after her!" Squall exclaimed.

Squall and Zell were sitting in Squall's car, trying to figure out what their next move would be. Squall was hell bent on following Rinoa to her father's mansion and apologising to her and Zell was trying his best to make sure that no one saw him with Squall. That was the last thing he needed.

"Zell, are you listening!"

"Huh? Oh, yeah…"

"We've got to follow Rinoa!"

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for waiting so patiently for this next chapter. It took me a while to think up what to write but I finally did it! Thanks for reviewing too! You guys are seriously awesome. 

**Luis**

**Angel**

**Cerulean Crystal**

**Deppresion Angel**

**WSecrets**

**SHiNiGAMiLENNE**

**TidusXyuna637**


	12. Tension at the Caraway Mansion

**The Ironice Things in Life**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantay 8 or any of the characters, names or locations.**

**---**

"Selphie? Zell?" Quistis called out, as she strolled out of the bathroom with a towel neatly wrapped around her head.

Even in her simple lace night gown and with no make up on, Quistis radiated such beauty that no one had ever come close to rivalling. At a height of 5'6 with dark blonde hair, with the slightest hint of strawberry, and bright blue eyes, she was one young woman who never needed to worry about her looks. But her looks weren't the only things that stood out about her. She was also very intelligent and accomplished and proved that beauty also came along with brains.

"Now where have those two gotten off to so early in the morning?" she wondered out loud, "You usually need a foghorn to wake up Zell…"

Quistis strolled into the lounge area and her eyes were instantly attracted by the white sheep of paper lying on the coffee table. Swiftly, she picked it up and skimmed through its contents.

_Hey Quisty!_

_I know this is all sudden and everything but I decided on the spur of the moment that I'd head off to Trabia for a while. I'll let you know when I'm coming back. I probably won't be able to phone up 'cause the reception in Trabia's terrible with all the mountains and everything. _

_Selphie_

Quistis stared in amazement at the letter that she was holding. Selphie had never contemplated going to Trabia at all and hadn't even mentioned anything about it last night. This was all too weird to digest so early in the morning.

Quistis sighed and plopped herself down on the sofa, only to jump up quickly as she heard a scrunching sound. Glancing down, she noticed another bit of paper lying on the sofa.

"Now what…?" she muttered, her brow creasing as she read through the letter.

_Quistis,_

_Gone out of town on business for a couple of days. Be back soon._

_Zell_

Quistis' eyebrow shot up as suspicion leaked into her mind. Selphie and Zell both out of town on exactly the same day? This was too much to believe.

"Something's not right…" she mumbled, reaching for the phone.

And you know what Quistis did? She called the only person that she could trust….

-----

"What do you mean Selphie's missing?" Seifer demanded, frowning at the hint of worry he noticed in Quistis' voice.

"_Well, I don't think she was planning this trip at all. It's all so sudden…"_ Quistis' voice trailed off leaving a chill to run down Seifer's back.

"Hmm…"

"_And I don't know if Irvine knows."_

"Have you talked to Irvine yet?" Seifer asked quickly.

"_No, not yet but I'm going to call him right after I finish talking to you."_

"No, don't do that. I'll let Irvine know and I'll get back to you, ok?"

"_Ok, Seifer. I really didn't want to bother you about this but…"_

"No, I'm glad you told me."

"_Ok, I'll talk to you later then?"_

"Yeah…hey, Quistis?"

"_Yeah?"_

"Did anything strange happen last night?"

"_Hmm…not really. Rinoa left and…"_

"Rinoa left! Where?"

"_She went to her father's place for the weekend. Why?"_

"Uh, nothing. Has Rinoa called you yet?"

"_Not yet…"_

"Hmm…anything else happen?"

"_Well, Selphie wanted to talk to me about something but I had to go to the door then and Selphie headed off to bed and was gone this morning."_

"Ok, thanks. I'll let you know if I find out anything from Irvine."

"_Ok, bye."_

Seifer didn't even respond as he hung up and quickly dialled the number to Irvine's cell phone.

"_Helloooo," _came the strong accented voice of the Galbadian cowboy.

"Hey, Kinneas get your ass over here," Seifer ordered.

"_What? Why?"_

"Something's happened and I can't make sense of it."

"_What's happened?"_

"I'll tell you when you get over here! Wait, where's Squall?"

"_Squall's gone to Esthar. He'll be back tomorrow."_

"WHAT? You nincompoop! How could you let him get away?"

"_Huh? What's happening?"_

Seifer slapped his head with a palm. He remembered that Irvine knew nothing about the Squall and Zell situation. Seifer had a gut feeling and his gut feeling was telling him that Squall and Zell were up to something right now.

"Kinneas?"

"_Yeah?"_

"Your girlfriend's missing."

-----

Rinoa Heartilly held the older man's gaze as he surveyed her. She was starting to feel even more uncomfortable by the second but she decided that the silence was better then having to talk to him.

"How are you, Rinoa?" General Caraway finally asked his stubborn daughter.

"I'm fine..." she answered shortly and god forbid if General Caraway expected her to ask him the same.

"I'm not going to make small talk here Rinoa so I'm just going to cut to the chase," General Caraway said.

"You do that," she responded flatly.

General Caraway closed his eyes at his daughter's rudeness and heaved a sigh before opening his eyes to look at Rinoa again.

"I have received word that you've landed yourself in a spot of trouble," he said as if prompting his daughter to blurt out her entire sob story.

Rinoa openly glared at him as she refused to talk to him about her issue.

"Rinoa, I hope you're aware that if you hadn't been so keen to defy my beliefs then this never would have happened…" General Caraway said coolly.

"Oh, shut up!" Rinoa cried jumping to her feet, "Don't you go blaming me. I did what I thought was right! I couldn't live under this roof and follow your stupid rules! Did you think that I would just sit by and let you prevent Timber's independence with that hopeless Vinzer Deling and Sorceress Edea? No! I could never let that happen!"

"Rinoa, you already got into so much trouble for that incident. If I hadn't talked to the authorities about it and used my connections you'd be in the Desert Prison right about now!" General Caraway contradicted, as he began to lose some of his composure.

"Oh, yeah? Well I would rather be in prison then have to listen to you remind me that you helped me!" Rinoa roared, her face beginning to turn red.

General Caraway sighed and took a deep breath.

"That Timber incident was 3 years ago. You still have 2 more years of the Galbadian Government's probation. After that you, Zone and Watts will be free to leave Galbadia. For now just keep your head down and stay out of trouble. Getting splashed across headline news with President Loire's son isn't the way to do that."

"Hey! 5 years monitored custody is bad enough without having you rub it in! God! I wish I could just escape from here! But at least I didn't turn into traitors like Zone and Watts..." Rinoa muttered darkly, her face taking on a look that could have broken glass.

"Rinoa, they chose the paths they wanted to. They decided that working for me would keep them safe and you decided that leaving home once again was the right thing for you to do," General Caraway reasoned.

Rinoa gave her father a final glare before flopping down on the sofa once again. She hated the man so much that no words could define her feelings towards him.

"May I see the letter, Rinoa?" General Caraway finally asked when he thought that she had calmed down.

Rinoa scowled but stick her hand into the pocket of her blue top and took out and envelope which she stuck out in mid air. General Caraway sighed and made his way towards his daughter to retrieve the letter that was causing his daughter so much grief. He opened it and his forehead wrinkled instantly.

_Dear Miss Rinoa Julia Heartilly,_

_Following further investigations into the resistance riots three years ago, it has come to our attention that you were the said leader of the infamous Timber resistance group, "Forest Owls" that caused the death of many innocent residents of Timber. We are aware that you are on 5 years probation in Galbadia but following further enquiry and discussion we have come to the conclusion that this heinous act much be punished severely._

_You are summoned to appear in court to be convicted and sentenced as is correct to the current laws. You will need a lawyer, and if you are unable to afford one, we will provide you with one accordingly and within notice._

_The hearing commences in 2 weeks at 9:30 am on the 10th of December. Please be punctual. _

_Delia Maney_

_Office of the High Court of Justice of Galbadia_

General Caraway looked up as he finished reading and saw how much pain this was causing his daughter.

"Why couldn't you be more like your sister?" he wondered in a whisper.

---2 months ago---

_Squall Leonhart sat nervously at a café on the streets of Galbadia as he waited for the news that he was about to receive. Squall wasn't a person that got nervous but today he couldn't help it. The news that he was about to receive was life changing and he was anxious to hear it straight away instead of waiting around any longer._

_Squall's heart leapt as he saw the well built blonde making his way towards the café. Zell Dincht had arrived…_

"_Yo, Squall!" Zell greeted as he plopped down opposite the handsome brunette._

"_Well?" Squall enquired trying to sound as composed as he possibly could even though he wished that Zell would just blurt it out already._

"_Wait, lemme order something to eat first…." Zell said picking up the menu and scratching his head._

"_Aaah! Just tell me already, you moron!" Squall burst out unable to hold his anxiety in any longer._

_Zell dropped the menu smack on the table, his mouth hanging slightly open as several people turned their heads in Squall's direction._

"_Uhh…" Zell stuttered, "Well this is great news Squall….you know that girl you told me to find out about?"_

_Squall nodded feverishly as his mind floated back to the beautiful girl he had seen a week earlier._

"_Well she lives in one of the Moogle complexes with two other women. One of them is Quistis Trepe who works as an instructor at Galbadia Garden and the other is Selphie Tilmitt who works at a music store in town. She herself works at the local community centre," Zell informed._

"_And what was this extra special news that you had to tell me?" Squall questioned as his impatience started getting the better of him._

_Zell literally beamed as he heard these words._

"_It's her…"_

"_Huh? Who?" Squall asked, confused._

"_The one we've been looking to that could possibly lead us to solving this whole mystery…Rinoa…" Zell said triumphantly._

"_What?" Squall said with a jolt and stood up._

"_The girl you wanted me to find out about…her name's Rinoa Heartilly. She's General Paul Caraway and Julia Caraway's daughter. She adopted her mother's maiden name," Zell explained quickly._

_Squall's eyes widened as he realised the extent of what Zell had just found out. This could be it….this could be their only chance to unmask the truth._

_Squall met Zell's eyes with a renewed determination._

"_I don't care how you do it Zell, just get yourself into Rinoa's apartment and find out whatever you can about the Caraway family. I need everything you can get."_

---End of flashback---

"Where is she?" Rinoa demanded as she saw a maid walk past her.

The maid jumped and nervously met the eyes of the younger daughter of Paul and Julia Caraway.

"Um...who?" the maid asked.

"My sister!" Rinoa exclaimed as she started to feel annoyed.

"No need to scare the employees, Rin," Zone said as he descended the staircase dressed in his bodyguard uniform.

Rinoa snorted and started to walk away as Zone followed her.

"Still the same strong headed Rin, I see?" he said with a chuckle.

"Oh, shut up already, you worthless piece of…" Rinoa started but stopped as she felt two strong arms slip around her waist.

She was turned around forcefully to face Zone and looked up to meet his amused hazel coloured eyes.

"Like I said, still the same…" he whispered as his arms moved up to grip her slim arms.

Rinoa instantly tensed as she felt his muscular arms grasp her and he pressed his body closer.

"Zone, what're you…?" she questioned, avoiding his eyes.

"Shh…" he silenced her, "I've been dying to hold you for so long."

"Zone, please…I really don't want to get into this…" Rinoa said she tried to free herself from Zone's grip.

Even though she hated to think about it now, she had once welcomed this very embrace from Zone. She had met him almost 3 years ago in Timber when she had run away from home. He had been 19 and was fighting for the same cause as she was. She was instantly attracted to him and they had started going out not long after. But things changed after the war. He just wasn't the same guy anymore. He had decided to work for her father and she hated him for it.

"Why can't we go back to the way we used to be?" he asked gently.

"Zone, you know that's never going to happen. There are so many reasons why…" she trailed off. It was hard to explain her reasons to him.

"Just because I'm working for your father now…" Zone began to say but Rinoa had tuned out because this hadn't been the first reason to pop into her head. Instead a pair of stormy blue-grey eyes accompanied with a handsome tanned face swam into her mind. She shook herself as she realised who she was thinking about.

"What is it, Rinoa?" Zone asked as he studied her closely.

"N-nothing…" she answered, a little shaken at what she had been thinking, "I just don't feel the same way about you, Zone. You have to understand that."

Zone scowled as he felt rejection hit him heavily.

"How can you do this to me? After everything we've been through!"

Rinoa pulled herself away from him angrily.

"Oh shut up, you low life! Do you even know what I've been through? So don't you DARE stand there and chide me!" she yelled, breathing heavily, "AND WHERE THE HELL IS MY SISTER?"

Zone sighed as his eyes wandered over the gorgeous woman standing in front of him.

"Your sister's in Timber. She'll be back in a week or so."

Rinoa frowned. She had been looking forward to seeing her older sister once again. It had been three years since she'd last seen her.

"I'm going out," Rinoa decided, "If the old man comes looking for me tell him that I've gone shopping."

"Well, I can't really do that seeing as how I'm supposed to be your bodyguard," Zone explained, a smirk playing around his mouth.

Rinoa's mouth dropped open.

"What are you on about? I'm 20 years old! I can take care of myself!" she argued.

Zone lazily shrugged his shoulders as he tried to contain himself from laughing at her outburst.

"The General's orders," he explained.

Rinoa narrowed her eyes but didn't argue further as she turned around and stormed towards the front door. With a smile, Zone followed her.

-----

Zell was snoring away in the car when Squall finally caught sight of Rinoa leaving the Caraway mansion.

"Zell!" he hissed, elbowing Zell in the ribs.

Zell woke up with a start and hit his head on the ceiling of the car.

"What happened? Where's mummy?" he questioned, before he realised where he was.

Squall shook his head before he pointed towards Rinoa and the bodyguard that had followed her out.

"Come on, let's see where they're going."

**A/N: **Omg! I'm so sorry I haven't been posting any new chapters and I know I have the typical excuse that I've been busy...but I REALLY have been. And I had major writer's block. I seriously didn't know what to write...but still you guys kept on reviewing. Thanks so much! You're all awesome, loyal readers and I love you! I hope this chapter is to your liking and I promise I'll have the next chapter up MUCH sooner. And thank you for reviewing guys!

**Luissquall**

**tidusXyuna637**

**ShinigamiLenne**

**Cerulean Crystal**

**milk tea with soy bean**

**CristalBlueRose**

**ADarkknight**

**WSecrets**

**Verdanii **(good to see you back)


	13. Rinoa's Ring

**The Ironic Things in Life**

**Disclaimer: I don't own or claim to own any Final Fantasy 8 characters, names or locations or own anything relating to any of the other Final Fantasy games.**

**---**

Rinoa feigned a yawn as she looked over in Zone's direction. Zone glanced up from his newspaper and winked at Rinoa who rolled her eyes and went back to picking through her herb salad. Rinoa was not amused, nor entertained by Zone following her around everywhere. She was 20 years of age and was perfectly capable of looking after herself in a city that she had been raised in.

With a sigh, Rinoa's eyes wandered along the busy Galbadian district as pedestrians hurried by. Her eyes lingered on the overly familiar buildings and she didn't even need to have her eyes open to know where and what each of the shops were. Her eyes glided over Missie's Patisserie which sold the best pastries in town and her mouth watered as she longed to taste a chocolate pastry.

She and Zone were sitting at the very trendy Midgar Crew Café at a table by the large window. Rinoa glanced towards the counter of the café to where the ridiculously good looking manager, Cloud was serving customers. Cloud caught her gaze and smiled warmly before turning back to the customer at the counter who was waving his arms around like an enraged penguin and stamping his foot.

Rinoa's eyes wandered back to the bustling street and that's when she saw him. A guy dressed all in black with chocolate coloured hair was now standing across the street outside Missie's Patisserie. She closed her eyes and shook her head to make sure she wasn't seeing anything and then opened them again.

He was gone!

With a start, Rinoa stood up and pushed her chair back rather loudly. Zone glanced up from his newspaper.

"What the hell's wrong with you, princess?" he enquired, folding up his newspaper as he stood up as well.

"Uhh…I've had enough of sitting. Let's go into some boutiques," she said, her face flushing as she spoke rather fast.

Zone raised an eyebrow but didn't argue as he followed her out.

-----

"Ugh!" Squall grunted as he quickly dove behind a pot plant that aligned the busy Galbadian sidewalk.

"Dun dun dun, dun duh nuh, dun duh nuh," Zell chose to start humming at that precise moment. He continued in the same fashion to the Star Wars song that always announced the arrival of Darth Vader.

Squall glared at him and was just about to slap him over the head when he noticed Rinoa and her bodyguard leave the café that they had been in. He quickly stood up, followed by Zell and crossed the street to hurriedly chase after them. Squall was aware that people were staring at him, if not for his odd behaviour but for his famous and familiar face.

"Squall Leonhart!" a group of girls chorused, but he didn't even turn around once. He was too used to getting this kind of attention and it was driving him insane.

Zell however liked the attention that circulated around Squall. He had never come quite so close to experiencing it and he was enjoying it greatly, especially seeing as how a good number of girls were now running after him. He knew that they weren't following him but he could always pretend…

-----

Rinoa pushed open the shop door to 'Ellone's Emporium' which had always been her favourite place to shop. She loved the very smell of the place. It seemed to always calm her senses. Even as a little girl, she, her sister and her mother had frequented the shop on most days; admiring the display cases, trying on the outfits and handling the exquisite jewellery.

"What a place," Zone merely said, as he watched Rinoa's entire face lighten up.

He knew her very well, having worked closely with her for a year in Timber. She was an admirable young woman and would always be. There was just something about her that stood out. She was so gentle and caring but when the situation required it, she could be so strong willed and determined. But he could tell just by looking at her that things were starting to get harder in her life and she was starting to lose her happiness.

"How I wish I could afford all this," Rinoa breathed in awe, as her eyes fell on a beautiful gold band.

"You very easily could…" Zone said as he moved beside her and carefully placed a hand on her shoulder.

Rinoa looked up at him and felt something stir in the depths of her stomach as she envisioned a pair of blue-grey eyes looking back at her. She quickly shook her head and looked out the store window only to spot a familiar face looking back in.

-----

Squall was crouched very awkwardly outside 'Ellone's Emporium' as he struggled to hide himself from view and yet be able to see everything that went on inside.

He should have known that Rinoa would go into that particular store seeing as how the entire situation with the both of them had started when they had collided and he had smashed her expensive 'Ellone' make up kit. He smiled wryly as he remembered the look on her face when she had blown up at him at the party being held for 'Zantetsuken'. He didn't know why he was thinking about her like this and he shook himself so that he could focus on her again.

Squall's stormy coloured eyes followed her as she stared adoringly at a beautifully crafted ring sitting in a glass display. It was a thick banded beauty of gold that glinted enough for Squall to be able to notice it from outside the shop and he could instantly see that Rinoa had become attached to it.

Squall's fists involuntarily clenched as he saw Rinoa's bodyguard move closer to her and place a hand on her shoulder. Rinoa looked up at him and then moved her head slightly to look out the window of the shop right at Squall.

Squall instantly panicked and rolled to the side, only to roll right into Zell and end up on top of him.

"Uhh…Squall, I know we've gotten close in the past few months but I don't think you're the guy for me," Zell teased.

Squall shot Zell an icy glare and quickly got to his feet and started to blend in with the crowd again. He couldn't afford to be caught…not when he was so close to uncovering everything and restoring it to the way it should be.

"I think that's enough for one day," Squall decided as he saw Rinoa and her bodyguard hurry out from the shop and go in the opposite direction to where they were now standing.

Zell yawned and stretched his arms above his head.

"Good idea, I really need to turn in," he said as he yawned once again.

Squall raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. Zell after all had done a lot for him.

"Well you take the car and go back to the hotel. You might wanna pick something up to feed Selphie," Squall suggested.

"What about you?" Zell asked.

Squall ran a hand through his hand and shrugged.

"Just gonna stick around. I'll walk back to the hotel," he said, as if it didn't really bother him.

Zell knew that Squall had other intentions but decided not to question his brunette friend's plans. Instead he merely nodded and with a wave, disappeared down the street towards where they had parker their car.

Squall smiled slightly as he watched the blonde blend in with the rest of the busy street, and then turned towards 'Ellone's Emporium', pausing only for a brief second before he pushed open the door and went in.

-----

That night Rinoa tossed and turned in bed, wishing that sleep would finally come to her. But five minutes passed before she realised that it was a useless task. She just wasn't gonna get any sleep until she figured out what was wrong with her.

'_Maybe it's just because I'm back in this god forsaken house,'_ she thought, and this seemed to be a good enough reason for her.

She happily closed her eyes but almost in an instant opened them again.

No, that wasn't the reason for her restlessness. It was something else. Something that was teasing her in the corner of her mind.

'_Well, the General's enough to put me off for a month's worth of sleep.'_

She smiled at her little joke and once again closed her eyes. But just like before, she opened them almost immediately and this time sat up in her huge canopy bed. Her large ebony eyes adjusted to the dark and she pulled her legs up and placed her head on her knees, wrapping her slim arms around the bottom half of her legs.

'_I wonder how everyone else is…hmph, Quisty must be having one hell of a time keeping those two under control. Oh well, Irvine's always there to contain Selphie which is lucky for Quistis. I mean, Irvine must get good practice seeing as how he has to put up living with Squ…'_

Rinoa sat up very straight, her back completely rigid. Why did thinking about Squall make her feel like this? After all, he drove her completely insane, smashed her belongings, acted like a rude and arrogant prick…

She slightly smiled as she thought about the positives of Squall Leonhart.

'_But then again, he took me home that time I fainted and he looked so concerned the night I was crying at Selphie's party. And the way his slate blue eyes looked so intense when we were yelling at eachother…and the way his hair falls so perfectly into his eyes…'_

Rinoa's heartbeat sped up as she remembered how Squall had fallen on top of her the day he'd taken her home. His muscular chest had pushed her down on the bed and at that moment she had been yelling, but now…what she wouldn't do to have him here with her…

"But why?" she cried out to the darkness of her room, "Why am I thinking about him in this way? I shouldn't…I mean, it's Squall!"

Her last words were meant to close the argument, as if no sane person in the world would ever fall in love with Squall Leonhart.

'_Love…? Did I actually just think about _not_ falling in love with Squall Leonhart?'_

"Why is everything so confusing? The man drives me insane!" she exclaimed to no one in particular.

Then once again she envisioned his lean, muscular figure, his chocolate coloured hair and his amazing eyes that held so much behind them, and she felt her knees weaken. Her entire body relaxed and she fell back into bed, pulling then sheets up to her chin wishing that she could just hold him to see what it felt like.

'_Wow, a President's son, a movie star…what would he ever see in me? He's way too good for me. I have no chance with him, no chance in the world.'_

But little did Rinoa know how very untrue this was…and how very wrong she was too, because not very far away in a crummy Galbadian Hotel, Squall Leonhart lay awake in bed thinking that Rinoa Heartilly was too good for him and that she would never love someone like him.

-----

Birds chirped on the branches of the trees that surrounded the Caraway mansion and Rinoa woke to this with a smile gracing her beautiful face. Her reddest of rose coloured lips were shaped in the sweetest way and if any man had seen her at that moment, they would have forever given their heart to her.

"I wonder what the old man will make me go through today," she said to herself as she very slowly made her bed and then walked over to the large window in her room.

She stood there for several long minutes, just taking in the beauty of her surroundings within the Caraway compound. Outside the Caraway Mansion's tall, steel gates the world was not such a nice place but Rinoa didn't want to think about that. Instead, she let her eyes wander over the many coloured flowers neatly planted in the back garden and watched as two birds flew around, chasing eachother as they went.

It was then that Rinoa realised that it was too quiet. She couldn't believe that she hadn't known what was missing. She'd been so fired up yesterday and then after her day in this end of Galbadia she had come home and gone straight to her room and then to bed. She felt like kicking herself for her negligence.

Rinoa ran out of her room and started yelling at the top of her voice.

"ANGELO! ANGELO!"

She ran down the next case of stairs and onto the next floor.

"ANGELO! Here, boy! Mummy's home!"

Without another thought, Rinoa ran down the stairs and onto the next level where she was abruptly caused to stop in her tracks as she bumped into Watts.

"Ow!" they both said in unison.

Rinoa straightened herself up and then gave Watts a disapproving look before remembering the source of her din.

"Where's Angelo?" she demanded, barely letting Watts catch his breath.

"…gathering information is my speciality, princess!" Watts responded with a grin, "Your sister has taken Angelo with her to Esthar, princess."

Rinoa sighed in relief and realised that if Angelo had been there then he probably would have raced to her anyway. With that out of her mind, Rinoa now turned to her ex-best friend Watts and looked him up and down.

"So, how's the life of a traitor treating you?" she enquired coldly.

Watts immediately turned a dark red and opened his mouth to answer but was quickly interrupted by the arrival of another person.

"Rinoa, I would greatly appreciate it if you didn't hassle my employees while you stay here."

General Caraway walked along the corridor to where Rinoa and Watts were standing. He stopped right in front of her and gave her a look of great dislike.

"Yes, sir," she answered shortly, trying to work as much rudeness into her tone as she possibly could.

"Please come to my office as soon as you can. I need to have a meeting with you to discuss your future," the General instructed.

Rinoa glowered at him and nodded.

"Yes, sir."

"Good," the General said and without another word, walked down the next flight of stairs and out of sight.

Rinoa was just about to walk past Watts when he stopped her.

"Princess, I have something to deliver to you."

Rinoa raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"What is it?"

Watts stuck a hand into the pocket of his jacket and took out a small package wrapped in blue paper. Blue was Rinoa's favourite colour and Rinoa at once reached out for it, the colour attracting her attention.

"Who's it from?" she asked as she began to unwrap it.

"I don't know, princess," Watts answered obediently, "It was in the mailbox this morning and it had a tag on it with your name on it so I picked it up and brought it straight to you."

The sky blue wrapping fell to the floor and to Rinoa's surprise a black velvet jewellery box was inside. Fingers shaking, she quickly opened it and her mouth dropped open as she saw what it was.

"How…?" she wondered, as she stared at the gold ring that she had eyeing only a day before.

'_It must've been Zone…no one else knew that I wanted that ring. But why would Zone go to that much trouble when he knows that he has no chance with me? I made it clear…'_

The beauty of the gold ring lay on her smooth hand until she decided that accepting the ring wouldn't be a big deal seeing as how she didn't know who it was from. On closer inspection she noticed that the outside of the gold ring had very fine carvings around it which weren't very obvious on first glance. She held the ring up closer to her face and saw that the engravings were worked around the ring in a fiery pattern with a kind of animal at the very focal point of it. And at that moment an idea came to her.

'I'll go to the shop and asked who purchased this ring…they're bound to remember.'

Rinoa snapped her head around to Watts and fixed him with a steely gaze.

"Tell the old man that I've gone out. I'll be back soon."

She started to hurry down the next flight of stairs to the first level but stopped as she heard Watts call out and run after her.

"Princess! I'm supposed to come with you! I'm your escort for today, but maybe you shouldn't go out…"

"And why not?"

"Well…um…because the General told you to be in his office shortly."

Rinoa snorted back a laugh as she heard this.

"The old man can wait."

And without another word Rinoa ran down the remaining steps and out to the hallway with Watts chasing after her.

'_She'll never change, our princess,'_ he thought, panting heavily.

-----

Squall sat in his car as he watched the Caraway Mansion very closely. For hours there had been no sign of life inside the Mansion except for when the cook had come out to do a very distinct fart and pick his nose, and Watts had come to collect the mail. But now his patience was rewarded as the doors of the Mansion flung open and Rinoa walked down the extremely long driveway to reach the front iron gates which she proceeded to have opened by Watts who had run out after her.

What Squall found amusing was that Rinoa was wearing a pair of blue chocobo pyjamas.

* * *

**A/N:** I'm so sorry! Not for the update but for my last update where I have mistakes everywhere. I'm so sorry guys I really didn't read through the chapter properly before I posted it up but I'll edit the chapter sometime soon and then re-post it. Nothing big, just little spelling mistakes and things that are getting on my nerves. 

Yay! I've updated quicker than last time (feels proud) and there's much more! Right now I'm aiming at about 20 chapters for this story but it may not be enough so it may go onto 25 and 30 if I really have more to write about but for now be prepared for 20-25 chapters. My aim is to get 20 chapters done by the end of the year. Thank you so much for putting up with my slow updates and still reading. You guys are awesome! (Hugs everyone like a crazy thing)

Now a bit about this chapter. I'm sure many of you will be letting out relieved sighs as you find out that Selphie is not in fact dead as it first sounded. No, I could never kill cute, bubbly Selphie off, she's too...cute! Hehe...more mystery...(laughs evilly)

Thanks for reviewing guys! Love you all!

**Cerulean Crystal:** Yay! You reviewed! Thanks so much. Once again I'm sorry that you had to read the story all over again but I'm glad you didn't mind. :)

**FFMuse:** Thanks! I really do try to get the humour in there and many readers including yourself have enjoyed it so I'm sure there'll be many more laughs (trust me, there will be).

**tidusXyuna637:** Yay! I updated! And thanks for putting up with me...I really do appreciate it. Hehe, Squall and Zell seem like jerks right about now...but it's for a good cause...I think... :P

**ShinigamiLenne:** I just had to have a Zone and Rinoa thing. It was too tempting but I hope it made sense. I can't wait for Rinoa and her sister to meet as well...but it won't be anytime soon, unfortunately. :(

**CristalBlueRose:** There will be heaps more updates! Thanks for reviewing:)

**Verdanii:** Hehehe, yay! You're back for good!

**WSecrets:** Thanks so much for your lovely review. It was in fact your review that gave me the inspiration to finish this chapter off. I'm glad you're liking the story so far.

To finish off, I'll be posting the next chapter up sooner because I have my school holidays coming up so...yay! I KNOW you Squinoa fans will just love the next chapter.

Mwa xoxo


	14. The Long Awaited Apology

**The Ironic Things in Life**

**Disclaimer: I've said this so many time but I'll say it again...I don't own Final Fantasy 8**

**Edit in Chapter 13: **I just relaised that I made a mistake in Chapter 13 by saying that Ellone is in **Esthar**. She is in fact, like I said in Chapter 12, in **Timber** with Angelo. Sorry about that. I just thought I'd better clear it up.

**---**

This early in the morning the Galbadian shopping district wasn't particularly busy. Shops were just starting to finish up their morning routines before they overturned the "closed" signs on their doors to "open". Outside his trendy café, Cloud Strife was sweeping the pavement and fixing up chairs before he walked back into his shop and waited for the usual morning customers to come in and have their wake up coffees.

However, this was not the shop that Rinoa was jogging towards in her sky blue pyjamas. Her eyes were instead focussed on a large store just on the next block that displayed it's name in large, fancy cursive. She ignored the looks that she got off the passer bys as they stared at her attire, and instead quickened her pace so that she could get to 'Ellone's Emporium' faster. Not far behind, Watts was already out of breath.

"Prin…cess…!"

Rinoa didn't turn around to acknowledge him; instead her speed increased and she left Watts far behind. Not much behind Watts was Squall who was tailing them both and keeping a reasonable distance behind them.

"Shit!" Squall Leonhart cursed as he saw Rinoa heading towards 'Ellone's Emporium' with her bodyguard trailing way behind.

'_If she goes into 'Ellone's Emporium' and asks who bought the ring then they'll tell her. I can't let her find out it was from me!'_

-----

There was always one of them. But one was enough to wreck Squall's day. He really did hate it though. Public attention drove him insane but there was always one of them.

A young girl of maybe thirteen years old was seated on a bench as Squall stalked past her. The girl's eyes grew wide and she quickly jumped to her feet and pointed at Squall openly.

"Squall Leonhart!"

A good number of people heard her and their eyes flew to the good looking guy who was covering his head as if he was being attacked by magpies.

'_Shit'_

Yes, Squall hated the attention…but there was always one of them.

-----

"May I help you?" a young woman standing behind the counter of 'Ellone's Emporium' asked as Rinoa approached her.

"Yes…" Rinoa paused and leaned forward to study the woman's name tag, "…_Grace_…I received this ring this morning as a present…"

At that Rinoa held her left hand forward to show her what she was talking about. Grace focussed her attention on the ring as Rinoa began to speak again.

"I was wondering if you could tell me who bought it."

The shop door of 'Ellone's Emporium' opened up and Rinoa didn't need to turn around to know who it was. She could tell by the heavy panting that it was Watts.

"Yes! We sold this ring yesterday in the afternoon! It's one of a kind…15, 000 Gil," Grace started saying excitedly.

Rinoa eagerly leaned forward.

"And who bought it?"

"It was unbelievable actually…I never thought someone like that would walk into our store…"

-----

Squall dared to glance inside 'Ellone's Emporium' and his gut sank as he saw the woman who he'd bought the ring from yesterday, studying Rinoa's hand.

'Shit! She's gonna tell Rinoa! I gotta do something!'

And without really thinking about what he was getting himself into, Squall pushed open the door of the store and bombarded inside.

-----

"STOP!"

The door of the shop crashed open and a young and very desperate man leapt inside. Rinoa, Grace and Watts both jumped in fright as Squall Leonhart appeared before them.

"It's him!" Grace exclaimed before Squall could say anything else, "He bought that ring yesterday!"

Squall literally groaned and covered his face with a hand as Rinoa's heart sped up and she slowly approached him.

"You got me this ring?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

She wasn't about to act like an idiot in front of him and held a cool exterior. Squall also composed himself as best as he could as he answered her.

"Yeah…"

"Why…?"

'_What is that smell on her…? She smells like roses…and something else…'_

"…"

Rinoa leaned forward as some of her eagerness began to show. She wondered if he would tell her that he loved her. Then she realised that it was too much to hope and that she was acting stupid in wanting to be with Squall.

"Why Squall? Tell me…"

Squall heaved a sigh as he dared to look down into her large, dark eyes. He hadn't prepared himself for the effect they would have on him, and his stomach leapt as she stepped a little closer.

'_She looks good even in lame pyjamas…'_

"…"

"Squall, will you please tell me what's going on?"

"I…I wanted to apologise…" Squall mumbled, "I'm sorry that I broke your make up kit. I got you something else from the 'Ellone' brand in return…"

He looked down at a spot on the floor as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. He wished that she'd say something but so far Rinoa hadn't said a word. The silence grew until Squall looked up at her and saw that she was actually smiling.

'_What the hell is she smiling about? Maybe I said something right…'_

"And anything else…?" she asked, still smiling.

Squall stared at her in confusion and as he did so his smooth forehead wrinkled.

"..Huh…?"

"Apologise for fighting with me at the party, apologise for fighting with me at the radio station, apologise for me being splashed across the newspapers, apologise for the media calling me a _prostitute_…"

Squall stared at her in disbelief. Was she really serious? He was just about to launch into a series of apologies when Rinoa let out a laugh that caused his pulse to speed up.

"I'm joking, Squall," she assured with a giggle, "It's ok…and…um…I'm sorry too…you know? For yelling at you and stuff…"

She trailed off as if waiting for him to accept it with gratitude. Instead, Squall placed a hand on his hip and glared at her. She would have laughed at his girlish pose if it hadn't been for the look on his face.

"Anything else?" he demanded icily.

"W-what?" Rinoa stammered.

"Apologise for yelling at me, apologise for embarrassing me at the radio station, apologise for calling me a pervert when I was actually helping you, apologise for the way you acted at Selphie's party…"

Rinoa gaped at him like a goldfish and couldn't believe her ears until Squall's handsome face broke into an actual genuine grin. Rinoa couldn't recall ever seeing him smile.

"Gotcha," he said, still grinning at her shocked expression.

Rinoa was staring at him in awe.

'_Wow, Squall Leonhart cracking a joke…what a day…'_

"…Phew, I thought you were serious for a moment," she admitted as she smiled tentatively.

Rinoa couldn't believe that she was actually on speaking terms with Squall. This must've been the only time that they had communicated without yelling at eachother. She was amazed at how much she was starting to like him.

"Um…there was something else too…" Squall mumbled out.

"Yes?"

Squall heaved another sigh as if his thoughts were seriously torturing him. His intentions were good but he still felt as if Rinoa would take it the wrong way. He hoped she wouldn't….because she really was his first and last hope.

"Well, you see I have this…um…movie premiere coming up…I don't know if you've heard of it…it's called 'The Sorceress' War'…"

Rinoa's ears perked up at the mere mention of the name of that particular movie. Selphie was dying to go and see it and had been going on about it for a good number of weeks now.

"Yes, I've heard of it," she said, nodding to show that she was listening to him and for him to continue.

"…d…wa….go….it…e…" Squall mumbled, looking down at the ground in deep concentration.

"Huh?" Rinoa asked, staring at him in confusion. She hadn't understood one word of what Squall had just uttered.

Squall sighed at his inability to express his feelings and looked up to meet Rinoa's sparkling eyes.

"Do you wanna go with me?"

Rinoa's smile broke into the biggest smile and she eagerly leapt forward, almost scaring Squall. Even Watts took a step back as he saw the Rinoa, who had been cranky and upset for a while, genuinely return to her old optimistic self again.

"Yes! I mean…of course! I can't believe _you _wanna take me!"

Rinoa suddenly stopped shrieking and shot Squall an odd look. Her look now reflected the look Squall had on his face as soon as Rinoa had starting jumping around.

"Why _do_ you wanna take me anyway?" she asked, her voice turning suspicious.

Squall had had a sinking feeling that Rinoa would ask him this question and he didn't want to admit his real feelings to her, but he couldn't just say that it was because he needed a date, otherwise he had no chance of taking her.

'_What are my real feelings anyway?'_ he wondered as he looked straight into her expectant eyes.

"I wanted to make up for the way I'd treated you and you're a…nice person so why _wouldn't_ I wanna take you?"

Rinoa's face fell just the slightest because she had gotten her hopes up for Squall declaring that he loved her or something.

'_Yeah, right,'_ she scoffed, _'Like he would ever love me.'_

"Ok, Squall," she responded with a nod, laughing a little out of embarrassment, "I'll go with you…but be warned, if you try and make any moves on me then I'll set my doggy on you!"

Squall smirked as Rinoa said this and acknowledged her remark with a slight shake of his head.

"Don't worry…I'll keep my hands to myself."

Rinoa beamed and glanced out of the store for the first time. Her eyes widened at the small crowd that had gathered there and were desperately trying to look inside at the handsome young actor who was talking to the ebony haired girl.

"Squall…? What…?"

Rinoa could only point as Squall turned around to meet the curious looks of the crowd outside. A camera flashed at that exact moment and Squall inwardly groaned.

"Don't worry…let's just try and get out of here first," Squall turned to the star struck woman at the counter, "Is there a back door outta this place?"

The woman snapped out of her reverie and mutely nodded as she pointed towards a door situated behind the counter that she was standing at.

"Come on, Rinoa," Squall said as he headed towards it.

Rinoa paused for the smallest of seconds as she glanced from Squall to Watts. Her brain was working very quickly as she wondered if she should really take Watts along.

"Watts…please do me this one favour," she pleaded as she looked desperately into his eyes.

Watts's ears perked up.

"Anything, princess."

"Let me go with Squall on my own…I mean, _without_ you."

"But princess…!"

"Watts…_please_? Please, pretty please?"

Rinoa widened her eyes and gave him her puppy dog look. Watts sighed and nodded defeatedly.

"Alright, princess…but be very careful…"

Rinoa flashed him a grin and ran after Squall without another word to Watts. Squall was waiting for her on the other side of the door. They were now in a room filled with boxes and clothes racks. There was another door on the other side of the large room. Squall headed over to it and opened it up to welcome the noises of the traffic. He held out his hand to Rinoa.

"Come on."

She took his hand and they walked out into the alley behind the shop. Rinoa glanced up for a second to study the side of Squall's face. Squall turned as he felt her eyes on him. Rinoa quickly looked away, blushing as she did this.

"Rinoa…?" Squall said very seriously.

"Yes?"

"I have some very serious health issues regarding your cook…"

* * *

**A/N:** Hello, you gorgeous people! Yay! I have 99 reviews! On average I get about 7 or 8 reviews a chapter now so I'm very happy. If you like this story or have anything to say about it, please do review. I'd really appreciate it. Thankies! 

Now this chapter is more about Rinoa and Squall resolving their differences. The next few chapters will show them becoming friends and possibly more...hehe...we'll see. The next chapter is going to go back to Seifer, Irvine and maybe Quistis to see what they're upto at the moment. And how can we forget Zell and Selphie. They shall be making their appearance in the next chapter as well. I'll do my best to get it up as soon as possible. I really do try though and I hope you guys are still reading and enjoying the story.

Thank you to these reviewers!

**tidusXyuna637**

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	15. Selphie's Choice

**The Ironic Things in Life**

**Disclaimer: I don't know Final Fantasy 8 or anything associated with it (oh, how I've missed saying this)**

**---**

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Zell Dincht glanced up with a start.

"Oh, please not again," he pleaded.

The thumping continued despite Zell's appeal for it to stop.

"Sef!" Zell whined as he got up from the couch and walked over to where Selphie Tilmitt was hitting her tied up feet against the wall. Selphie's arms were tied behind her back and her mouth was gagged but she still wasn't giving up.

Zell knelt down and took the gag off her mouth.

"What is it, Sef?" he asked.

Selphie took a deep breath.

"LET ME OUTTA HERE NOW!" she roared at the top of her voice.

Zell covered up his ears.

"Sef, I wish I could but Squall said not yet," he explained gently.

"ZELL DINCHT IF YOU DON"T LET ME OUT RIGHT NOW, I'LL…"

But Zell didn't wait to hear the rest of her threatening sentence. Instead he quickly gagged her again and stood up.

"I wish I didn't have to do this, Sef but you have to understand that there's no way out of it now."

Selphie began banging the wall again and Zell started panicking in fear of someone coming up to check what the source of the noise was. Zell had to do some quick thinking.

"Sef, if you're good I'll let you watch 'Chocobo World' tonight."

The banging instantly ceased and Zell let out a sigh of relief. That fateful night that Selphie had heard him on the phone to Squall had almost been the downfall of Squall's plans. Selphie hadn't heard much but she had heard enough to damage Zell and Squall's mission and Zell couldn't have let that happen under any circumstances. Even though he had a soft spot for the girls, he was still loyal to Squall and yet he couldn't do any harm to Selphie. Instead he had bundled her up and brought her along to the southern end of Galbadia.

Zell's stomach growled and he realised that he hadn't eaten in a while. Motel food was expensive and at this particular motel he doubted the cleanliness of the food and staff.

"Oh, jeez…" he mumbled as his stomach growled hungrily again.

-----

"I really don't understand what's going on," Quistis Trepe said as Irvine Kinneas and Seifer Almasy looked at eachother.

"It's very simple, Quistis," Seifer began, "Zell and Squall know eachother from Garden."

"But then why were they pretending not to know eachother?"

"See, that's what I couldn't figure out. I mean, I recognised Zell straight away but I could see that he and Squall were acting oblivious to eachother's existence. Then I recalled that Zell had graduated as a private investigator and it all dawned on me. Squall has an obsession…."

"An obsession?" Quistis echoed.

Seifer nodded.

"He's obsessed with his past and I think he hired Zell to investigate something related to his father and another woman."

"But what does this have to do with Rinoa?" Quistis asked.

Seifer's brow creased.

"To be honest, I really didn't know but I know she's right in the middle of it and that Zell was spying on her for Squall."

Quistis nodded thoughtfully as she remembered the night that she'd caught Zell sneaking out of Rinoa's room.

"But what does this have to do with Selphie?" Irvine cried.

Seifer looked at Irvine sternly. He knew that Irvine was immensely stressed as he had to worry about restoring Squall's public image and also the disappearance of his insanely bubbly girlfriend.

"Quistis, you said that Selphie wanted to tell you something just before she left?" Seifer enquired looking over at her again.

"Yes, but she left before she could tell me."

"I reckon she found something out about Squall and Zell…"

"Do you think they'd do anything to her?' Quistis asked looking worried.

Seifer shrugged, brushing his blonde hair out of his eyes.

"With those two, I really don't know."

Irvine gulped and Quistis looked ready to burst into tears.

-----

Squall Leonhart and Rinoa Heartilly sat beside eachother awkwardly. Now that they were alone together they didn't know what to say to eachother. Their entire acquaintance had previously been based on yelling insults at eachother. However, on this occasion it didn't seem fitting.

Rinoa glanced over at Squall carefully to admire his handsome features and chuckled to herself as she saw a bit of bandage stuck over his nose.

'_I wonder how that happened…'_ she thought to herself. Squall didn't really seem like the sort of person to get into fights.

"Um…so what does it feel like being so famous?' she asked, as this was the only thing she could think of to say.

Squall shrugged.

"It's annoying."

Rinoa chuckled at his curt response.

"Oh, I see, and what's it like to be the son of the President of Esthar?"

Squall's eyes darkened and he didn't say anything.

"Squall?"

"…"

"Oopsie, it looks like I hit a soft spot. Would you like a hugsie? It'll make you feel better," Rinoa said with a small laugh.

Squall's head snapped up and he looked into Rinoa's familiar dark eyes.

"A…hugsie…?"

"My mother always used to give me a hugsie when I got upset," Rinoa said with a sad smile.

Rinoa wrapped her arms around Squall.

"It's ok, whatever's bothering you will be alright," she comforted.

Squall felt a sharp pang in his chest. Rinoa's words had really affected him but he didn't quite know how or why. Whatever she had just said sounded so familiar but right now he couldn't remember from where. What was important was that he got back on track and figured out the connection between Laguna and Rinoa's mother.

"…uh…what about your family?' Squall asked.

"Well, there's my doggie Angelo who I love so much…and my sister of course…" Rinoa explained.

"You have a sister?" Squall asked, surprised that Zell hadn't found anything out about her.

Rinoa nodded brightly.

"Yep, my big sister, Elly. She's away in Timber right now."

"…and your parents?" Squall questioned.

"Both are dead to me," Rinoa said bitterly.

Squall raised an eyebrow. He had never heard such coldness in Rinoa's voice before.

Rinoa heaved a sigh.

"I'm staying with my father right now. He's a General in the army and I hate him. He's always preferred Elly over me. It's like I'm not even his daughter….and my mother died when I was 5."

"I'm sorry," Squall tried to say in a comforting tone.

Rinoa smiled slowly.

"It's ok, Squall."

"So when will you be heading back to North Galbadia?" Squall asked.

"Well, I'm only here for a weekend so I should be going back home soon. Plus, I have work…oh, by the way, when is this movie premiere of yours?"

"In three days."

"What? Three days? Ack, I don't have much time to put an outfit together!"

Squall smiled at her sudden outburst.

"It's ok, I'll pay for anything you need."

Rinoa blushed.

"It's fine, I have enough money," she answered.

Squall slightly flushed at her polite refusal and went quiet out of embarrassment.

"I should go now," Rinoa realised, "I have a meeting with my father and I should start preparing things for the premiere. I'll get in touch with you when I get back to my apartment."

Squall nodded and stood up as Rinoa did so.

"Bye, Squall," Rinoa said softly.

"Bye."

Squall watched as Rinoa quickly walked away and breathed a sigh of relief as he felt more in control of the direction that his plan was heading in.

'_What to do now? Yes, I'll call him, that's what I'll do.'_

Squall took out his cell phone and punched in a few numbers.

-----

"So what do we do now?" Quistis asked.

Irvine's phone rang to the tune of 'Sexy Back' and he hurriedly answered it.

"Hello?"

"_Hey, Irvine, it's Squall."_

"Sq-squall…hey!"

Irvine looked uncertainly at Seifer who glared at him to stay casual.

"_Where are you?"_

"Um…I'm at…uh…a friend's place…"

"_Ok, well I have some good news."_

"Ok…"

"…_I have a date for the premiere…Rinoa Heartilly…"_

Squall couldn't keep the excitement out of his voice.

"What? Really? How?"

Irvine was gob smacked and looked around at Seifer and Quistis in shock.

"_I apologised, then I asked her and she said yes."_

"That's great…uh…when are you getting back?"

"_Today, some time in the afternoon."_

"Awright, see ya then."

Irvine hung up the phone and was met by a questioning silence from Quistis and Seifer.

"Well, what happened, you idiot?" Seifer finally demanded to which Quistis gave him a disapproving look.

"Squall and Rinoa are going out!" Irvine exclaimed.

-----

Squall retrieved the key to the hotel room from his jacket pocket and quickly opened the door. He walked inside to find pizza boxes and soft drink bottles littered across the floor and Zell and Selphie sitting on the moth eaten couch.

"What's going on here?" Squall demanded.

Zell and Selphie both looked up. Selphie's mouth wasn't gagged and her arms and legs were untied.

Zell smiled guiltily.

"Selphie wanted pizza for brunch."

Squall shook his head and massaged his temples.

"Why isn't Selphie tied up, Zell?"

"…Uh…"

"Because I was tired and hungry!" Selphie exclaimed with a hand on her hip as she stood up.

Squall had heard about Selphie's infamous outbursts and really wasn't in the mood to be harassed by Irvine's 5 foot tall girlfriend.

"Look, Selphie just cooperate with us and you won't get hurt," Squall reasoned.

Selphie raised an eyebrow.

"Do you really think that I'm worried you two are gonna do something to me?"

"…"

"I just wanna go home…and when I do I'll tell everyone that you two are up to something!"

"Selphie, sit down…we have a lot to tell you," Squall said as he realised that the only way to get Selphie to stay quiet was to get her on their side.

Selphie frowned but did what Squall told her to.

-----

Rinoa glided into her room and spun around before collapsing onto her bed and out of breath.

"Wow! Squall and I are going out…well, I think it counts as a date. Oh my gosh!"

Rinoa wriggled around until she was comfortable and finally settled down. She couldn't wait until she went back home and told Selphie and Quistis of her news.

-----

Selphie Tilmitt's mouth was slightly open as she heard Squall finish off his story. She wasn't too sure on how much to believe but she could tell by the serious expression on both Squall and Zell's face that they weren't joking around.

"So are you willing to help us Selphie?" Squall enquired wringing his hands behind his back.

Selphie paused as a hundred thoughts entered her mind but she squeezed her eyes shut and quietly nodded.

* * *

**A/N:** Believe it or not but I haven't had my internet since last year October...I only got it back about a month ago but a little lost on how to carry on this story. Firt of all I will be updating much quicker and if any of my readers are still out there then I sincerely apologise and hope that you haven't gotten tired of me. I really am very sorry. 

Ok, the next chapter will be a bit longer and will have many new ideas so that you lovely people may be able to guess what Squall is really up to. I hope you all read and review and once again, I'm very sorry for the lateness. :)

Thank you to these reviewers :)

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	16. Returning Home

**The Ironic Things in Life**

**Disclaimer: Final Fantasy 8 doesn't belong to me...and yet I've been writing this story for almost 2 years...the future looks bleak as well**

**---**

The sun poured out over the Galbadian continent and finally lit up the large town of Deling City where people from outside were already entering, planning on spending a day shopping at the famous shopping district. Deling City was generally known as Galbadia as it was extremely large in size and divided up into north and western.

Rinoa Heartilly was a born and bred Western Galbadian and despite hating the fact that her father also resided in Galbadia, she really did love living there. She loved the bright lights and the bustling streets that overwhelmed her. She most of all loved the familiarity that came with visiting Western Galbadia and at every passing moment tried to hold onto some sort of vague memory of her mother that floated into her mind.

That's why it was easier for her to live out her 5 year sentence in Galbadia and not in the Desert Prison but now she didn't even know how long her peace would last. See, it had happened very easily for her. She had been a young and rebellious girl of 16, always feeling oppressed living with her father who seemed to hate her more and more every day. She couldn't really understand what the reason was but all she knew was that her older sister, Elly had always been the favourite.

A few months before Rinoa was to turn 16, she discovered a diary that had belonged to her mother. In it she read how Timber had been invaded 18 years ago and that despite Julia's pleas to her husband, he refused to tell the military to stand down. Rinoa felt an uncontrollable anger that day and felt that she should defy her father and continue her mother's dream, and that's exactly what she did. After that General Caraway had disowned Rinoa until the day she, Zone and Watts were captured by the Galbadian military. Rinoa was 17 then and had become even more hostile towards her father. However, because her sister Elly begged for General Caraway to do something, he unwillingly saved her and her friends from going to prison using his connections.

Rinoa shook her head as if to make her thoughts go away. She was on a rattling bus back to North Galbadia. General Caraway had offered to make other travel arrangements but she had refused his help.

The bus stopped and three people got on. Rinoa didn't pay much attention to them as they made their way up the aisle.

-----

"Stop whining!" Squall scolded, as the bus lurched forward.

"I can't help it…this beard's so itchy!" tiny Selphie Tilmitt complained, "I don't get why I have to wear this anyway!"

"Look, I've already explained this to you. We can't risk anyone seeing you or Zell. They think you're in totally different continents and if they saw us together they'd get suspicious," Squall repeated for the fifth time.

"I still don't get why _I _had to be the pregnant woman!" Zell whined.

Squall turned around to give Zell a death glare but decided against it as he took in the ridiculous outfit that they had purchased for Zell which included a pink maternity dress and a handbag to match. He had to hand it to Zell, he was dealing with it quite well.

"It's not fair that Squall doesn't have to wear an outfit," Selphie muttered darkly.

Squall sighed and instead averted his glare in her direction.

"I still don't get why Squall didn't pay for those parking tickets!" Zell exclaimed.

"Yeah! You're the President of Esthar's son! Do you even know how rich you are?" Selphie demanded, looking extremely fierce in her bearded attire.

"Does it look like I care? How the hell was I supposed to know that we'd get pulled over and that my car would be confiscated? There were only two unpaid parking tickets!" Squall quickly cut her off.

Zell and Selphie both smirked in unison and recalled how red in the face Squall had been when the officer had accused him of having an attitude and threatened to arrest him for it.

Squall turned around and continued walking up the aisle, then froze in panic.

"Oh, shit! It's Rinoa! Abort, abort!"

Zell looked around wildly and then threw himself down beside an elderly woman. Selphie also hurriedly seated herself whilst Squall looked around for an easy escape.

"Squall?" came a questioning tone.

'_Oh, shit.'_

"Rinoa?" Squall questioned, trying to look surprised.

"What a coincidence!" Rinoa said warmly, making room next to her on the seat.

Squall reluctantly sat next to her and looked around nervously at where Selphie and Zell were.

"Is everything alright, Squall?" Rinoa asked, noticing his anxious demeanour.

Squall whipped his head round to Rinoa's side.

"…uhh…yeah…I'm good…" he stammered.

Rinoa smiled and tilted her head.

"The last thing I expected was to see famous Squall Leonhart on a bus, although I don't think any of these people recognise you as of yet."

"Why? Is it that unbelievable to see a celebrity catching public transport?" Squall wondered.

Rinoa laughed easily. She really loved Squall's cool and easy way of talking and then his unexplainable awkwardness at times too. In fact, she loved all of him…

Rinoa shook her head to push her thoughts away. These growing feelings that she was experiencing towards Squall weren't only making her feel uncomfortable but could also threaten to be an issue with how she acted around him.

"Well…most celebrities are a little stuck up…not that I'm saying you aren't…you're just a stuck up celebrity who seems to like public transport."

Squall simply stared, not knowing whether to feel insulted or pleased. Rinoa laughed at the look on his face.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Squall. I was only joking around," she apologised with a giggle.

Squall gave her a strained smile. He wasn't in the mood to act all nice when Selphie and Zell were sitting less than a metre away from them. If Rinoa found out, then all his carefully laid out plans would blow up in his face.

-----

Zell tumbled off the bus as it pulled away.

"You've got to be kidding!" Selphie shrieked.

Squall sighed and looked around to make sure he knew where they were. He had refused to get off at the stop after Rinoa's just in case someone recognised them, and had decided that getting of 6 stops later was good enough.

"I am not walking back home like this!" Zell yelled.

"Well, you'll just have to," Squall snapped.

Zell scowled and looked up into the sky, hoping that it would calm him down a little.

"Ok, change of plans," Squall decided, "Take off your disguise, Zell."

Zell looked at Squall in disbelief but hurriedly pulled off his outfit.

"Zell, I want you to go back to the girl's apartment and act as if nothing's happened, ok?" Squall ordered.

Zell nodded obediently and hurried off down the street. It would be a half hour's walk back to the apartment.

Squall turned to Selphie who was scratching away at her face.

"Selphie, I'm going to go now but in about 15 or 20 minutes, I want you to take off your outfit and go back to your apartment, ok?" Squall asked.

Selphie glared at Squall.

"And how exactly do you expect me to get back?" she demanded.

"…uhh…walk?" Squall questioned.

Selphie stubbornly folded her arms across her chest.

"I refuse to walk!" she exclaimed.

Squall let out a deep sigh. He was so glad to be rid of Selphie.

"Look, you can get the bus back…" he started to say but was interrupted.

"No! I wanna get a cab! Give me some money."

Squall turned his head away and stared at the ground.

"Do you even know how rich you are?" Selphie demanded, then assumed the voice of a news reporter, "The Estharian empire is made up of many businesses which results in Esthar's large economy. The President of Esthar rakes in…."

"Ok! I get the point!" Squall yelled, thrusting a 100 bill at her.

"Only 100 Gil?" she asked.

Squall sighed and gave her another 500 Gil.

"Are you happy now?" he demanded, to which Selphie happily nodded.

"I gotta go," Squall muttered and strode down the street, and as far away from Selphie as he could get.

'_Tee hee,' _Selphie thought as she leaned against a wall.

-----

"Rinoa!" Quistis Trepe exclaimed as Rinoa opened the door to the apartment and walked in.

'_Shit!' _Seifer Almasy thought in his mind.

Rinoa surveyed the room and her eyes landed on Seifer who was comfortably sitting on the couch eating a bowl full of nachos with Irvine Kinneas.

"What the hell is _he_ doing here?" Rinoa demanded, looking at Quistis suspiciously.

Seifer stood up, a sneer pasted across his face.

"I do have a name, you know," he said.

Rinoa closed her eyes for a split second and tried to forget about the night that Seifer had outright rejected her without so much as a consideration. He was the biggest jerk she had ever met, now that things were cleared up between her and Squall, and there was no way that she was even going to pretend that she liked him.

"Quistis?" Rinoa asked through clenched teeth.

Quistis, who was always calm and poised, looked slightly troubled and flustered. She didn't want Seifer being there to turn into a big deal.

"Well…we have a serious problem and Seifer and Irvine are both here to help," she explained.

Rinoa put a hand to her hips and looked sceptical.

"Oh, really? And what is this problem?" she questioned.

Quistis cleared her throat nervously as she sensed Rinoa's growing anger.

"Quisty, why don't you just tell her about us first?" Seifer interrupted.

'_Quisty…?' _a nerve twitched in Rinoa's forehead.

Quistis and Seifer stared at each other whilst Irvine tried to look interested by the throw rug that adorned the couch. Everyone seemed to know how Rinoa was going to react to Quistis and Seifer's "happy" news.

Rinoa glared around the room.

"Well?" she cried.

Quistis let out a breath that she had been holding.

"Rinoa, honey, I don't want you to take this the wrong way…you know? We don't have _anything_ against you…um…see, the thing is…Seifer and I…we're…umm…_going out_."

Quistis said the last two words in a whisper hoping that they may have escaped Rinoa's ears somehow. However, judging from the twisted expression on Rinoa's face she guessed that this wasn't so.

"How could you do this to me, Quistis? I thought we were friends…" Rinoa said in a whisper.

"Rinoa…" Quistis began soothingly.

"NO! I've had enough! You've been going around behind my back!" Rinoa shouted.

"Rinoa, please calm down…"

"Why should I calm down? You knew how I would react to this! Even after you knew how I felt about Seifer! I can't believe this!" Rinoa yelled.

"Rinoa, stop this! We have to find Selphie!" Irvine intervened desperately.

Rinoa turned to face Irvine, her face flushed. Right now he seemed to be the only neutral person in the room.

"What?"

"Selphie's been kidnapped!" he burst out.

"Selphie? What? When?" she demanded.

"Right after you left on Friday night and today is Sunday so it's been 2 days," Quistis informed.

Rinoa massaged her head which seemed to be on fire.

"Do you know who did this?" she asked.

"Well, yeah…" Irvine said slowly.

Rinoa raised an eyebrow as the three other people in the room exchanged a "look" with each other. Quistis nodded to Seifer.

"We think it was Squall and Zell…" Seifer said slowly.

"Whoa! Wait just a minute here! _Our_ Squall and Zell?" Rinoa asked, astonished.

Everyone nodded.

"You've got to be kidding…" Rinoa muttered, "How do you even know?"

Seifer smiled smugly.

"They went to school together and they used to be friends."

"I've got a date with Squall on Wednesday…" Rinoa mumbled.

"We know," Quistis said.

Rinoa raised an eyebrow.

"How?"

Irvine raised a hand.

"I'm his personal assistant, remember?"

'_Oh, right,' _Rinoa thought.

"But what does this have to do with Selphie being kidnapped?" she asked out loud.

"We think Selphie found something out about them and they decided to kidnap her. The next day Selphie disappeared apparently to go to Trabia," Quistis explained.

"I still don't get how Squall and Zell…" Rinoa started but quickly stopped as the front door opened and Zell walked in.

"Hey, guys!" Zell exclaimed.

Nobody said anything as Zell looked around the room and swallowed.

'_Oh, shit! Seifer is here! What is he doing here?' _Zell thought.

"Hello, Zell," Quistis said, coolly.

Rinoa gave him half a smile which was all she could do right about now. Seifer sneered and Irvine grinned.

"…I really have to PEE!" he burst out, dropping his bag on the floor and hurrying to the bathroom.

A giggle escaped Rinoa's mouth as she turned back to the rest of the group.

"Do you _still_ think Zell and Squall are responsible for Selphie's kidnapping? Maybe there was a reason they didn't tell us that they're friends. You guys are seriously overreacting!" Rinoa reasoned.

"Look, Rinoa we think Squall might be after you," Seifer said.

"I think I know Squall better than you ever will," Rinoa scoffed.

"Rinoa, please," Quistis pleaded, "you have to understand that Squall may not be who he seems to be."

Rinoa rolled her eyes. She had always thought that Quistis was the only one with sense and reason but after today she really didn't know what to think.

"Until you guys get me some real evidence about Squall and Zell I don't think I'll see things your way, and as for Selphie being kidnapped…"

The front door unlocked and opened with a bang, and everyone looked towards it.

"BOOYAKA!" crooned Selphie Tilmitt.

* * *

**A/N: **I was a little upset that I didn't get my usual amount of reviews so I wasn't going to post up this chapter but I thought, "What the heck," and posted it anyway. I wish I'd gotten more reviews but it can't be helped. 

Well, here's chapter 16 just as I promised. Despite, being swamped with much homework I got it done...tee hee...and I have my school holidays now so I'll probably post another chapter soon after I feel I have enough reviews. Please enjoy and I thank everyone who reviewed. Love you much. :)


	17. Squall's Past

**The Ironic Things in Life**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 8 or anything related to it.**

**---**

Rinoa Heartilly swept her ebony coloured hair to the side and tried to pull up the zipper of the dress that she was currently trying on. Her friend, Selphie Tilmitt, who was carrying a stack of uneven boxes towards a chair, saw Rinoa struggling and awkwardly placed the boxes on the floor before bounding towards Rinoa to assist her.

"Need any help, Rin-Rin?" Selphie asked, bopping around Rinoa's shoulders, trying to catch sight of Rinoa's face in the mirror.

Rinoa turned around and met Sephie's excited face and wondered if Selphie had a knack for doing up tricky zippers. Rinoa and Selphie were in the fashionable and expensive _'Yuna's Boutique'_ which happened to be the most popular clothes and accessories store in town. Rinoa had chosen to take Selphie instead of Quistis Trepe, to whom she still wasn't on good terms with after discovering Quistis and Seifer Almasy's secret relationship.

It was a beautiful Monday morning and instead of going to work, Rinoa and Selphie had taken the day off to go and look for something that Rinoa could wear _to 'The Sorceress' War'_ movie premiere with Squall Leonhart, the protagonist of the movie, who just so happened to be an up and coming celebrity and the President of Esthar's son.

"…Uh…are you sure you know what you're doing, Selphie?" Rinoa enquired cautiously, becoming scared of the way that Selphie's fingers were wriggling in anticipation.

"Of course I do!" Selphie enthused, turning Rinoa around and taking a hold of the zipper, "Now let me just jiggle…then pull…"

Rinoa closed her eyes in fear and was surprised when Selphie let go of her a second later.

"All done!" Selphie cheered, clapping her hands together.

Rinoa opened one eye, afraid to look and find that quite the contrary had happened, but all she found was that the dress had taken quite a liking to her figure and was hugging it in all the right places. However, in the case of the obstinate zipper, it was done up quite neatly and securely.

"Thanks, Sef," Rinoa said feeling greatly relieved that no harm had come to the beautiful dress which she had finally picked out after hours of searching in the boutique. Selphie had consistently been helping her pick out dresses but they always seemed to be very odd in fluorescent colours, stripes or spots which Rinoa didn't really have a liking for.

"No problems, Rin…you look like a mermaid," Selphie beamed.

Rinoa smiled to herself in the mirror. Yes, she did look like a mermaid.

-----

"_Estharian Presidential Residence, how may I help you?"_ a woman asked politely on the other end of the line.

"It's Squall. Get me Kiros Seagill on the phone."

"_Should I even bother asking whether or not you want to talk to your father instead?"_ Xu questioned sceptically.

Squall rolled his eyes and made a mental note to himself to get Xu transferred.

"Should I even bother answering that?"

"_Squall, you'll never change, you know that? Well, hold on."_

Squall listened to a modern version of _'Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec'_ playing while he waited. _'Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec'_ was a central song in his movie _'The Sorceress' War'_ and no doubt they had put this song on to promote the movie. The song cut off as Kiros answered his private phone.

"_Kiros Seagill."_

"Kiros, it's me."

Kiros had the urge to slam the phone down on the basis of what Squall had previously called him for. There was no way that he was going to get involved in one of Squall's crazy requests again.

"_Squall, look, I think of you as a son and everything but after what you asked me to do last time…I don't know…you know I can't go around calling up Galbadians…and…"_

"Kiros, calm down…I'm not asking you to call up General Caraway this time," Squall reassured, "It's something entirely different…I was just wondering about…my movie premiere…"

Kiros felt a rush of relief hit him and quickly interrupted Squall.

"_Squall, it's in two days and as far as I know you _still_ don't have a date to take with you. What are we going to tell the press? That a good looking, celebrity like yourself can't find a single girl to take with you? That's not accep…"_

"Kiros, what are you going on about? Hasn't Irvine told you that I've found a date?" Squall cut in feeling confused.

"_What? When did this happen? Who did you ask?"_

Squall couldn't quite understand why Irvine hadn't told Kiros yet. After all, it was Irvine's job to keep Kiros updated on Squall's life…that's what Irvine was paid to do…

"Rinoa Heartilly."

"_Rinoa Heartilly, ok…wait a second…_Rinoa Heartilly_! The same Rinoa Heartilly who was in the papers with you? The very same one who you got me to call up the Galbadian Presidential Residence for?"_

"…"

"_Squall, I want you to tell me right now who this Rinoa Heartilly is and don't you even dare lying to me."_

Squall let out a sigh.

"She's…related to the Caraway's…."

Squall was met with an icy silence.

"_How _exactly_ is she related to the Caraways, Squall?"_

"General Caraway is…her father…"

Minutes passed before Kiros spoke again and Squall could've sworn that he had heard Kiros cursing Hyne.

"_Squall, you know how Laguna feels about Galbadians. If he finds out that you're date is also related to General Caraway, he'll kill me! Is that what you want?"_ Kiros demanded.

Squall's grip on the phone slackened as he shut his eyes tightly. How could he make Kiros understand how he felt about Rinoa? But it wasn't simply about his feelings…Rinoa was crucial to his plans. He had to get closer to her in order to find out everything he could about her.

"Kiros, please try to understand…"

"_No, Squall, no! I have had it with you and Irvine! You keep this from me for so long and expect me to simply_ understand_…? No…"_

Squall took another stab at trying to convince Kiros.

"Kiros, she isn't like a typical Galbadian…I…I really like her…"

Squall felt his face flush a little as he admitted this little piece of information to Kiros of all people.

On the other end of the line Kiros heaved a defeated sigh. He knew how anti-social Squall was and he also knew that Squall had never gotten close to any female. It seemed that Squall's ability to communicate with women had died along with his mother.

"_Laguna can't find out about this."_

Kiros said this so fast that Squall couldn't figure out what Kiros meant by it.

"Huh?"

"_Fine, you can take this Rinoa person but Laguna can't find out under any circumstances. I want her identity and background hushed up, is that clear?"_

"Uh…sure…thanks, Kiros, I really appreciate this."

"_Ok, well if that's all then I'll see you on Wednesday night…"_

"Kiros, that's not why I called," Squall quickly added before Kiros could leave.

Kiros silently swore in his mind and received a sinking feeling in his stomach. He sincerely hoped that Squall wasn't trying to get him involved in some dodgy plan of his. Kiros was ironically reminded of being dragged into one of Laguna's hopeless plans many years ago.

"_What is it, Squall?"_

"Uh…well, not that I care but…is _he_ gonna be at the premiere too?"

Kiros let out a relieved sigh but then smiled sadly. He knew that Squall was hoping for an affirmative answer and Kiros was afraid that he would have to be the one to break the bad news to him.

"_Squall, I'm afraid Laguna won't be able to make it to your premiere but he told me to let you know that he really wanted to be there."_

"Oh." Squall felt like something very hard had struck him across the face and for a second he forgot that he was still on the phone. He quickly adjusted his feelings and continued talking with a bitter expression on his handsome face.

"_Squall, I'm really sorry…"_ Kiros said sympathetically.

"No, don't worry," Squall responded sourly, "Where is _he_ anyway?"

"_Laguna's out of town on business. He was very vague about it though but mentioned something about going to Timber for the 20__th__ anniversary of some charity called _'Angel Wings'_. He said that he wasn't to be disturbed under any circumstances."_

"Right, that'd be it, wouldn't it?" Squall questioned angrily.

"_Squall, I know how you're feeling right now and I totally understand that…"_

"Oh, do you now?" Squall demanded in a low voice, "I suppose it was you who was put into boarding school at the age of 5 because your loony of a father was too busy looking for his _beloved_ daughter to care about you?"

"_Squall…"_

"Because if you haven't gone through all of that then I don't expect you to understand so easily!" Squall yelled and slammed down the phone.

Breathing heavily, Squall fell back on the soft sofa beside him and tried to calm down a little. He had always tried to act as if anything that Laguna did or said didn't matter to him but he didn't know why this time he had reacted so badly to it.

He realised that he should be used to Laguna bailing on him by now. From what Squall had heard, before he had even been born, Laguna and Raine had had a daughter called Ellone who was the light of their lives. At the age of 3, Ellone had mysteriously disappeared and Laguna had left Raine all by herself to run Esthar in her pregnant state. Laguna was so obsessed with finding Ellone that he ignored Raine and the baby that was on its way. Raine had been extremely distressed at the loss of her beloved daughter and was suffering so much that when she finally gave birth to Squall she died from the stress and of not having Laguna by her side.

Eventually Laguna returned to Esthar a few weeks after Raine's death to resume his presidency and was shocked to find his wife had passed away and had left him a son behind. Laguna was devastated but instead of focusing his attention on Squall, he instead continued searching for little Ellone who he felt was the final connection between him and Raine. Squall was neglected until he turned 5 and was then sent off to Balamb Garden.

Squall was an anti-social but intelligent child who easily became popular as he got older. He didn't like the attention that girls gave him but it was inevitable with his good looks which he had inherited from his father. With dark, floppy hair, slate-blue eyes and a mysterious attitude Squall drew everyone's attention instead of doing the opposite of what he actually intended. His rare skill with a gunblade made him appreciated by Seifer Almasy who he developed a love-hate friendship with. Seifer was the only one who understood Squall without needing Squall to tell him anything and this was acknowledged secretly between both of them. Zell Dincht simply wanted to become friends with Squall, who found it hard to shake him off but accepted his friendship eventually.

Squall had never revealed to anyone, besides Seifer and Zell, that he happened to be the son of the President of Esthar, and after he graduated from Balamb Garden at the age of 17 he returned to Esthar for 2 years. Squall had always blamed Laguna for his mother's death, for not being there for her in her time of need and he would never forgive Laguna for this. It was then that Squall began to find clues to his father's mysterious past and of a woman named Julia Caraway who Laguna seemed to have been connected to. Squall had become obsessed with discovering Laguna's past and for this reason accompanied Laguna to Galbadia. However, Squall took a liking to Galbadia and decided to settle down there permanently and far away from Laguna.

And then there was Rinoa, a person who initially mattered to Squall only because she was Julia's daughter, now meant so much more to him…but thinking about that would give his head a throbbing he did not need right now. What interested Squall right now was this sister of Rinoa's whom Zell had never mentioned before.

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for your reviews guys. I really appreciate it. I sincerely apologise for the lateness of this update but that was due to my computer crashing **_(AGAIN!!!)_** and I re-did this chapter to the best of my ability but it's not exactly the same as the original. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy it and that it answers a few of your questions. The next chapter will be posted much sooner...I promise! Love you, guys:) 


	18. The Premiere

**The Ironic Things in Life**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to FFVIII**.

---

The small town square was decorated with colourful streamers and balloons and the number of people who actually managed to squeeze themselves into the large crowd was amazing. The buildings that enclosed the town square had enlarged posters of a beautiful woman with ebony hair on them. She smiled encouragingly and seemed to fill your insides with light if you looked for too long.

Laguna Loire had his eyes fixed onto one of these posters as he was pushed and jostled around in the crowd. Of course, no one knew that he was really the President of Esthar as he was dressed in plain clothing and this pleased Laguna greatly.

As a young woman of 23 walked onto to the tiny stage which had been placed at the front of the crowd, the noise instantly died down. Here was a woman who could command all attention just by walking into sight. Even Laguna was forced to marvel at her beauty and diverted his gaze to her instead.

The young woman smiled kindly out into the crowd and fixed up the green shawl draped around her arms. She exuded elegance, beauty and intelligence in a modest way and politely waited for everyone to settle down completely. The woman had chocolate coloured hair which was cropped perfectly to the base of her neck and skin which was as white as a pearl.

"Thank you for joining me today for the 20th anniversary of the _'Angel Wings'_ charity which Julia Caraway began as merely a dream two decades ago," the young woman said, "This charity was founded to support the Timberian victims who had and were losing everything to Galbadia. The take over lasted a long time until Timber was finally granted independence three years ago. It is unfortunate that Julia could not have witnessed that event."

Laguna looked around him and saw that many people were crying and others looked very grieved.

"Nevertheless, we are all standing here today in a city which has been granted freedom and we are celebrating _'Angel Wings'_ and Julia's accomplishments. Three cheers for Julia!" the young woman cried.

All around Laguna people erupted into cheers and he was surprised to find himself joining in a little later.

When the cheering died down the young woman spoke again.

"I would also like to thank all the people who have donated to the charity and those of you who will continue to do so in the future. Thank you very much for keeping my mother's dream alive."

Laguna jumped in shock as the young woman walked off the stage. This was Julia's daughter? He had to talk to her!

Laguna pushed through the crowd and managed to see that Julia's daughter was standing beside the stage talking to someone. He breathed in relief and hurried towards her, racking his brain for the girl's name.

"Ria!" he called out through the crowd which was beginning to move off around him.

"Ria!" Laguna called out again. This time the woman looked around but was unable to locate the source of the voice.

Laguna finally managed to reach her, out of breath, and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Miss Ria Caraway?" he asked.

The young woman turned around with confusion in her eyes. Her brow wrinkled as she caught sight of Laguna.

"What did you just call me?" she questioned. She had not heard that name in years being uttered from anyone's, but her, mouth.

"Are you Ria Caraway?" Laguna asked as he took in everything about the woman's face.

"…Um…sorry, I'm not. You must be mistaken," she replied.

Laguna felt a little lost at this response as the woman began to turn around.

"Wait! You said you were Julia Caraway's daughter," Laguna appealed.

The young woman nodded and brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"I'm the eldest daughter of Julia Caraway, Elisabeth," she explained.

_Elisabeth_. This name rang no bells for Laguna and he felt a little disappointed. This daughter of Julia's bore no physical resemblance to her mother. It was the younger one who did. _Ria._

"I'm sorry, Elisabeth. It's just that I had met Ria many years ago and I wasn't aware that Julia had an elder daughter," Laguna apologised, feeling confused as to why Julia had not mentioned this huge detail.

Elisabeth smiled warmly.

"It's perfectly fine, but please do call me Elly. The name Elisabeth disturbs me," she chuckled a little awkwardly, "Especially from people who knew my mother very well. They're hard to come across these days."

Laguna raised an eyebrow but said no more.

"So, it seems as if you're wholeheartedly against your father just like your mother was," Laguna commented.

Elly's eyes flashed angrily.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she demanded.

"Well, your father was General for the Galbadian Army and played a huge part in the taking over of Timber. Your mother founded a charity to support Timberians and…" Laguna began but was quickly interrupted.

"My mother and father believed in following their own dreams. It didn't affect their love for each other," Elly said firmly, though the corner of her mouth twitched in the slightest.

Laguna took a step back, realising that he had taken things a little too far.

"I apologise, Elly, I didn't mean to offend you."

Elly merely shrugged and once again took on a very calm demeanour.

"That's perfectly fine, Mr…um, I'm sorry, I didn't quite get your name…" she trailed off, looking at Laguna expectantly.

"Laguna Loire," he answered, "Pleasure to have met you, Miss Caraway."

Elly's mouth opened in surprise. She couldn't think of what to say to the President of Esthar but when she finally did, he was too far gone.

-----

"No comment," Squall growled.

"Squall, is it true that you and Rinoa are currently engaged?" one of the reporter's, a slim woman with a jutting jaw, questioned.

"No," Squall muttered, as he glanced to his side where cameras were flashing in Rinoa's face and she was surrounded by reporters and journalists.

'_This is _so_ not my week,'_ Squall thought, as he noticed Irvine's attempts to reach him through the wriggling mass of people.

At this exact moment Squall wished that he hadn't fired Seifer who was a specially trained bodyguard prepared to deal with all sorts of situations. With all the tension that had been present leading up to the premiere, Squall and Irvine had quite forgotten to hire another personal bodyguard for Squall.

"Are you alright?" Squall asked Rinoa as she finally surfaced from behind a bunch of reporters.

"I think so," she said with a half-hearted smile, and glanced over to where Selphie and Irvine were coming towards them.

"I don't see your other friend, Quistis," Squall observed as he followed Rinoa's gaze. Squall already knew what had happened. Zell had told him everything that had gone on in the apartment since Rinoa's return from South Galbadia.

"I didn't ask her to come," Rinoa murmured softly. She was still angry at Quistis about the Seifer ordeal and wanted plenty of time away from her.

Before Squall could ask why, Selphie and Irvine had reached them. Irvine and Selphie both had excited looks on their faces.

"This is so much fun!" Selphie chirped energetically.

Rinoa and Squall both rolled their eyes. Neither of them enjoyed the media's attention a great deal.

"Come along, come inside," Kiros ushered as the four of them walked to the front of the theatre where the movie was going to premiere.

Squall closed his eyes and wished that all would go well.

-----

"…Um…maybe you needed to put a bit more emotion into the role…" Rinoa suggested lightly as she looked at Squall's downcast head.

"…"

"I'm sure some people will admire the hard work that you put into it," Rinoa said, hoping that Squall would say something.

The two of them had gone to a restaurant for dinner after the movie premiere and Squall had not said a word since. Unfortunately, most people didn't seem to think that Squall had even tried to act for the film and were angry at having wasted their time to come and see a movie which was based only on hype and speculation, not talent.

Squall slowly looked up and met Rinoa's eyes and Rinoa was surprised to find that Squall's eyes were shining brightly. In fact, he looked completely happy instead of being upset by the negative comments that he had received on his way out of the theatre.

"Squall, are you ok?" Rinoa asked gently and was shocked to find Squall grinning at her.

"I'm great," he replied, "Everything went according to plan."

Rinoa's brow furrowed.

"I don't understand."

"I never wanted to be a famous movie star or whatever. It's only a failed dream that Laguna had for himself and because he couldn't fulfil it, he had me pick up where he left off," Squall explained.

"Laguna…?" Rinoa asked.

Squall snorted darkly.

"Yes, Laguna, my_ father_. He couldn't even make it to my movie premiere because he was off in Timber for the 20th anniversary of some charity!" Squall exclaimed.

Rinoa's eyes widened as she realised what Squall was talking about.

"_Angel Wings_?" Rinoa wondered out loud.

Squall studied Rinoa carefully and nodded.

"But how did you know?" he asked curiously.

"…Um…because that charity was founded by my mother, Julia Caraway…" Rinoa whispered.

Squall's stomach clenched and he felt like someone had slapped him across the face. So, right now Laguna was at the anniversary for the charity that his lover, Julia Caraway, had founded. Laguna had chosen Julia's charity over Squall's premiere. Once again, Laguna had shown how much he really cared about his only son.

However, Squall could not worry about that right now. He had to stick to his plan, and act surprised at finding out that Rinoa was a Caraway.

"Caraway…?" Squall breathed, "I never knew…you never said…but your last name's…"

"Heartilly, I know," Rinoa said with a nod, "I changed it after I rebelled against my father 4 years ago. Heartilly was my mother's maiden name…"

"So, does that mean that you're General Caraway's…?" Squall questioned.

"Yes, I'm his daughter," Rinoa confirmed.

"But you never said anything…you never mentioned it…" Squall pressed.

"Let's just say that I don't like being connected to his name. Just like you, I don't address him as "father" but rather use his name. He has no respect for me and I none for him," Rinoa explained.

Squall nodded in understanding but then actually wondered something which he didn't know.

"How come you didn't go to the anniversary? It seems like you care about your mother…then why didn't you go to Timber as well?" he asked.

"That's my sister's job. She's better at public speaking than I am and everyone loves her. She has this amazing power over people. Maybe that's why our father prefers her over me. She's the perfect daughter, exactly what he wants," Rinoa muttered bitterly.

Squall could completely relate to what Rinoa was saying. He had had to live in the shadow of his elder sister even after her disappearance, hoping that one day Laguna would recognise that Squall was real and that Ellone was only a dream.

"Squall," Rinoa prompted, "can I ask you something? Why is it that you're surname isn't Loire, the same as your father?"

"Same reason as you. He doesn't know I exist and I have no place in my life for someone like that. Leonhart was my mother's maiden name," Squall explained grimly.

Rinoa nodded intently, her eyes wide in amazement. She could not believe what Squall was telling her and what she was telling Squall. There seemed to be an invisible well of understanding and similarities between them that she never knew existed.

---

Zell choked as he saw a figure leaning against the kitchen counter in the dark.

"I-Irvine?" Zell questioned uneasily. But even before the person had spoken, Zell knew that it couldn't be Irvine. Irvine was much leaner in appearance.

"Wrong, chicken-wuss."

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews guys and I'll update soon! 


	19. Her Big Mistake

**The Ironic Things in Life**

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned Final Fantasy 8 because then I would be the proud owner of Squall Leonhart. Alas, I'm not so lucky.**

**---**

Rinoa Heartilly's hair seemed to glow in the bright lights that surrounded her and because she looked like an angel, Squall Leonhart couldn't take his eyes off her. He couldn't believe that Rinoa was _here_ with _him_.

Actually, it was quite a big deal where Squall Leonhart and Rinoa were at that moment; a crummy bar located somewhere in the slums of North Galbadia. Sure it wasn't the ideal place to take someone on a date but it was the only place that Squall knew that he could go to without being recognised and then stalked.

Rinoa coughed a little as smoke wafted in her direction from the bar stool next to them. She took in her surroundings and felt a little disappointed at Squall's choice. He had said that the bar was "quaint" but had forgotten to point out that it was also smelly, dirty and would most likely be filled with noisy alcoholics. However, Squall had a point; there was no way that he would be recognised in here.

'_I might as well make the most of it,'_ Rinoa thought to herself, _'Who knows what will happen in my court case…maybe they'll give me a life sentence in the Desert Prison.'_

"Rinoa, do you want a drink?" Squall enquired as the bartender impatiently waited.

Rinoa snapped out of her thoughts and considered Squall's question. She was quite a weak drinker and got drunk very easily. But here she was sitting in a pub, so what else was she supposed to do?

"Sure, I'll have a shot of vodka," Rinoa decided.

Squall's eyes slightly widened as he repeated her request to the bartender as well as his.

He recalled sometime ago when Rinoa had been at the anniversary of the T-board shop _'Zantetsuken'_ and had abused him in her tipsy state. He hoped that the same thing wouldn't happen tonight.

-----

"Wh-what do you w-want?' Zell Dincht demanded, his voice shaky.

Seifer Almasy moved towards the trembling young male slowly, deliberating each step so as to frighten Zell a little more. When he reached Zell he grabbed his collar.

"I want you to come with me," Seifer sneered menacingly.

-----

"Ahahah!" Rinoa laughed as she clutched her stomach, "Squall, you are _so_ funny!"

Squall Leonhart laughed without restraint. He had never laughed so much or been so happy in his entire life. Nor had he ever let himself go as much as he was doing tonight. He didn't feel the need to have all his defences up and had instead laid himself bare to Rinoa. Sure, the alcohol was probably helping to loosen him up but he wondered why he didn't always do this.

"And then Zell started running all over the Centra continent trying to get his Chocobo back!" Squall finished, to which Rinoa laughed even harder.

"Oh, Squall! Stop now or my stomach will really split!" she exclaimed as her laughter subsided.

Squall raised his hands in the air defensively.

"Sorry, but it's really not me. You've gotta blame Zell for doing something so ridiculous," Squall reasoned, "Feeding the Chocobo chocolate when the instructor specifically told us that it makes them go crazy!"

Rinoa laughed harder and tried to stifle it by covering her mouth. When she began to calm down she addressed Squall a little seriously.

"I still don't understand why Zell didn't tell us that you two are friends," she wondered.

Squall sighed and closed his eyes. The alcohol was making his mind turn into mush and he couldn't think of a plausible excuse quickly.

"Uh…i-it…well, Zell…he d-didn't wanna tell you because you hated me," Squall spluttered out hoping that Rinoa wouldn't notice his awkwardness.

Luckily Rinoa had drunk just as much as Squall and was too intoxicated to be observing his behaviour.

"Zell's so silly, though at that moment I probably would've kicked him somewhere that would have resulted in him not ever being able to reproduce," Rinoa admitted as she giggled.

Squall let out a chuckle as he envisioned the misfortune that would have befallen Zell Dincht if Rinoa had found out that Squall and Zell were friends. He wondered what would happen if Rinoa found out that Zell had been hired by Squall to find out about Rinoa's mother and her affair with his father, Laguna.

Squall brushed away the unpleasant thought and focussed his attention back on Rinoa, or as best as he could in his tipsy condition.

"So, tell me something about your life. What's the craziest thing _you'v_e done?" Squall asked.

Rinoa's eyes sparkled mischievously as she thought about Squall's question.

"Well, when I was 16 I ran away from home and joined a resistance group in Timber called 'Timber Owls' which opposed the Galbadian military."

Squall's eyes widened as he tried to act surprised.

"But your father's the general of the Galbadian army. Why, that's…"

"…_Crazy_?" Rinoa asked and then burst into a fit of giggles.

Rinoa's laughter was infectious and shortly Squall caught on. The laughter subsided when Rinoa calmed down and closed her large, dark eyes. When she opened them she looked grieved.

"But something bad came out of my craziness, Squall. Something that I regret."

Squall clenched his hand. This was it. Rinoa was going to tell him about her court case. He tried to look as curious as possible as Rinoa took a deep breath.

"Well, I got arrested when I was 17 along with my accomplices, Zone and Watts and was going to get a life sentence in the Desert Prison but General Caraway used his contacts to get us out of the mess. Instead we got 5 years monitoring in Galbadia and Zone and Watts decided to work for the general to make it up to him."

Squall stared at Rinoa in surprise. This wasn't what he was expecting to hear and he was enraptured by her story. Zell hadn't been able to dig up anything on this. It was restricted information.

"So," Squall prompted, "that means you can't leave the Galbadian continent?"

Rinoa sighed and looked even more upset than before. She looked past Squall and seemed to be staring into the distance at something that she couldn't quite get to; freedom.

"Yeah, I only had two years of monitoring left."

"_Had_?" Squall questioned.

Rinoa's lower lip trembled as she took a deep breath in order to prevent herself from crying.

"Um, I got a letter about a week ago. They've reopened my case due to some new evidence. They say that it's because of all the deaths 'Timber Owls' caused…they're re-sentencing me."

Squall reached across the table to clasp Rinoa's hand as he noticed that she was close to having an emotional breakdown. He led her gaze to his and she began to calm down as she stared into Squall's cooling blue-grey eyes.

"Don't worry, Rinoa, I swear that I'll use Laguna's contacts and lawyers to make sure that you get out of this mess."

Rinoa sniffed a little as she smiled slightly. Squall started to feel uncomfortable at still holding her hand so he quickly let go.

"Squall, _you_ don't have to worry. I've realised that this is the way the world works for people who try and make a difference. 'Timber Owls' never killed anyone…we only dealt in sabotage. It was those Galbadian soldiers who did the killing…if only I could remember the name of the two who were in charge…Bugs and…uh, Whinge? No, that's not right…anyway, it doesn't matter. I've come to accept my fate."

Squall frowned as he watched Rinoa reaching for her glass of alcohol. He now realised that the only reason she had done so much drinking tonight was because she was certain that such a chance would never come again; that she would get a life sentence in the Desert Prison.

Squall grabbed Rinoa's hand and stopped her from taking another gulp of the amber liquid which filled her glass. Rinoa stared at him looking a little annoyed.

"I have a surprise for you," he whispered and was happy to note Rinoa's grip slackening on the glass.

-----

Rinoa's eyes were clenched tight under Squall's hand. Her breathing was coming out in weird spurts and she knew that Squall's proximity to her was the cause of her strange behaviour.

Squall's vision was a little blurred as he led Rinoa out to the terrace of his apartment. He tried to maintain his balance and didn't like the fact that the alcohol was getting the better of him.

'_Why did I have so much to drink?'_

"Squall, I'm terribly uncoordinated right now," Rinoa murmured wishing that she had a better idea of where she was being taken.

Squall chuckled and took his hand off Rinoa's eyes and his smile broadened as he heard her take a deep intake of breath.

"Squall, it's gorgeous! It's so much better than the view at my apartment," Rinoa gushed as she took in the surrounding view that the terrace offered.

The terrace was high up and from it the city could be seen with all its bright lights and glamorous landmarks. A cool breeze wafted through the air and Rinoa absorbed it all in along with the breathtaking sight before her ebony-coloured eyes.

"Squall, I wish I lived here," Rinoa said, and frowned as she noticed the slur in her voice. She sounded very inarticulate in her current condition.

Squall gently grasped her shoulders and turned her around so that she was facing him.

"You could…" he murmured as he pulled her close.

Rinoa's cheeks flushed and she bit her lip, never taking her eyes off Squall's slate-blue ones.

"What do you mean?"

"You could live with me…" he trailed off as he carefully picked her up into his arms.

Rinoa studied him wondering if he was being serious or not, but that didn't matter right now. What mattered was how Squall felt about her.

"Do you love me?" Rinoa asked, her eyes shining bright.

Squall nodded as he stepped back into his room with Rinoa still in his arms. Rinoa's pulse had quickened and Squall was certain that his heart was beating rather irregularly.

"I love you too," Rinoa whispered, and that was all that Squall needed to hear.

Rinoa didn't even realise as she fell back onto the soft sheets that covered the bed. She didn't realise when Squall climbed next to her and took off his jacket. Her eyes were only fixed onto Squall's and she didn't resist as Squall hungrily pulled her towards him.

-----

"Y-you're crazy!" Zell shouted as he tried to free his hands from the rope which was tied around them.

Seifer Almasy snickered as he saw Zell struggling in his chair.

"You can keep telling me that or we can get to the point, _chicken-wuss_."

"Stop calling me that!"

The door opened and Zell saw a young woman with short grey hair walk in looking extremely annoyed.

"SEIFER…FREAK."

Zell's first reaction was to cover his ears but he remembered that that wasn't an option right now. There was no way that he'd be released until he gave Seifer some information about Squall's plans. He had to admit that Seifer was good. Seifer had figured a lot of things out on his own.

Seifer turned around to look at Fujin and nodded at her.

"Let him in."

Fujin disappeared through the door and returned with a tall man wearing a cowboy hat and an uneasy frown. He took his hat off to reveal a long ponytail of auburn hair.

"Irvine?" Zell demanded feeling surprised.

Irvine glanced at Zell sheepishly and turned to Seifer.

"Are you sure we have to go this far? This is illegal, Seifer," he pointed out looking nervous and fidgeting with his hat as he said this.

"Irvine, this is the only way we can get some information on what Squall's up to. I didn't wanna do this but I'm afraid it's come to this. This may be the only way to save Rinoa."

Zell couldn't help but see the irony in all this. Irvine was planning on uncovering Squall's plan along with Seifer. It was highly likely that Quistis was a part of this too although Seifer probably hadn't told her about abducting Zell. What Zell found funny was the fact that Irvine's own girlfriend, Selphie Tilmitt, was actually helping Squall which no one else was aware of. If Irvine found out then things would definitely get tricky.

"And yet we're the ones trying to save Rinoa," Zell muttered.

"What did you say, chicken-wuss?" Seifer questioned angrily, "You're trying to save Rinoa? What, by stalking her and invading her privacy? I don't believe that…"

"I'm not telling you anything," Zell stated defiantly.

Seifer cracked his knuckles.

"We'll see…"

-----

The sun shone through the open terrace and straight into Rinoa Heartilly's face and she turned around in the soft bed only to be hindered by a solid object next to her. Rinoa clucked, irritated, and pushed at the object only to find that this object pushed back. The object groaned and that's when Rinoa's eyes flew open. She surveyed this object to find that it was in fact a naked man who resembled Squall Leonhart.

Rinoa sat up in the bed and looked at the man closer, and her eyes widened at what she found.

'_Oh my Hyne, this naked man _is_ Squall Leonhart!'_

Rinoa quickly jumped out of the bed, tangled her feet on the bed sheets and fell to the floor with a resounding thud.

-----

Squall Leonhart groaned again and slowly opened his eyes only to be blinded by the sun which was creeping into his bedroom. He crawled across to the other side of the bed to get a better look at his bed side clock and was startled to find a naked figure lying on the floor, wrestling with his bed sheets.

"Rinoa," he asked not believing his eyes, "are you trying to steal my bed sheets?"

Rinoa blushed as she managed to wrap the sheets around herself and stand up. The events of the previous night were slowly rushing back to her and she was mortified at Squall having found her like this.

"I-I…last night…we…uh…" she stuttered.

Squall realised that like Rinoa he was also undressed and he quickly covered himself with a pillow. He couldn't believe that he and Rinoa had actually gone all the way the previous night. They must have been really drunk to have done something like this.

"It's ok," he quickly interrupted, "It was a big mistake and it should never have happened. I don't know what I was thinking."

Rinoa's skin crawled as Squall said this. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"W-what?"

"Last night we were both drunk and we didn't realise what we were doing."

Squall ran a hand through his thick, chocolate-coloured hair. He had said enough and he glanced at Rinoa for assurance. Rinoa's large eyes were filled with tears that she couldn't hide and she felt stupid for spending the night with Squall.

"You don't love me?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Squall stared at Rinoa not knowing what to say. The last thing he had needed was for this to happen. He had only wanted to find out about Rinoa, not sleep with her. Things had gone way too far. He had mixed business with pleasure and this could not continue no matter how he felt about her.

"I'm sorry…" he said gently and looked away from her.

Rinoa's insides crumbled and she didn't have the energy to argue with Squall. All she wanted to do was throw herself onto the floor and cry her heart out, but instead Rinoa merely nodded and got her clothes together. She dressed herself and left the sheet on Squall's bed before walking out of his room. Squall followed after her, wrapping the sheet around his lean, muscular body.

"Do you want me to take you home?" he asked as she headed towards the front door.

Rinoa shook her head and left through the door and when she got outside all she could manage to do was break into tears and cry over the biggest mistake she had ever made; falling in love with Squall Leonhart.

* * *

**A/N:** Well, here's chapter 19 and I do apologise for the lateness but hopefully I'll be able to update a little faster now that I have holidays for 5 weeks. I'm sure many of you will empathise with me when I mention having a tonne of homework, short deadlines and lack of sleep. 

So, let me fill you in on what the next chapter will hold. Well, it will jump to Seifer, Zell and Irvine and perhaps have a little on Rinoa and Squall. If I can, then I will surely mention Rinoa's sister because I know many of you are curious about her.

I'd like to thank these revieewers because without you guys there would be no point to writing. :)

**Hououza**

**a dark night**

**CristalBlueRose**

**Lila Michelle Tizuki**

**Random1010011010**

**Cerulean Crystal**

**WSecrets**

**Jana Banana**

**Jayliyah**

I will update soon, I promise...as long as you guys keep up with those reviews. Also, if you get alerts saying that I've put up new chapters or something then ignore it because I'm only replacing 3 chapters that have grammatical errors. Thankies, guys:)


	20. His Goal

**The Ironic Things in Life**

**Disclaimer: Final Fantasy 8 does not belong to me.**

**--**

Seifer Almasy's emerald eyes glittered suspiciously as he studied Zell Dincht's sleeping face. Zell had refused to say anything about what Squall was concocting but had stuck to his story about Squall wasn't trying to get information out of Rinoa.

Seifer couldn't understand this. If Squall wasn't trying to get information out of Rinoa then why was he spending so much time with her? This was a mystery that he had to get to the bottom of.

--

Squall Leonhart had been sitting, petrified, on his bed ever since Rinoa Heartilly had left him in the morning. He wasn't aware of what the time was and he didn't care that his stomach was growling with hunger. The look on Rinoa's face before she had gone had left Squall petrified.

Squall's insides were a tangled mess right now. He couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong with him or what was happening but he knew that he had just made a huge mistake. The truth was Squall didn't think that Rinoa would react like that and now he was going to have to find another way to get into the heavily guarded Caraway Mansion.

Squall's insides heaved and he knew that that wasn't the only reason he felt so messed up. Rinoa's sadness was affecting him as if they were one and the same. Or maybe it was his own sadness…he wasn't so sure anymore.

Squall's phone rang and this roused him from his uneasy state of mind. He reached for his phone which was on the bedside table and answered it.

"Hel-" he began to say,

"_Squall Leonhart, if I don't kill you, stuff you in a cheap plastic bag and then bury you next to a pile of Moogle droppings then my name isn't Selphie Tilmitt!"_

"Selph-" he started to say.

"_How DARE you treat Rinoa in that way! I will squash you into the ground! I will make sure you never have children! I will stalk your father!"_

Squall found it hard to picture 5 foot Selphie squashing him into the ground but knowing Selphie, he was sure she would find a painful way to keep her word even if that meant hiring a bulldozer and learning to drive it.

"Ok, Selphie, just-" he tried again.

"_How could you treat her like this, Squall? How could you use her in this way?"_

Squall closed his eyes and took a deep breath. What was he supposed to do? Why was Rinoa making him feel like this? How could he overcome this emptiness he was feeling?

"Selphie, what can I do?' Squall asked.

There was a pause on the other end of the line as if Selphie was trying to decide whether or not to give a little bit of information away. Finally, Squall heard a sigh and Selphie spoke again.

"_Squall, you have to go and apologise to her and tell her what it is that you're searching for. She could help you. She would understand."_

Squall opened his eyes and considered this. Did he want the past or a future with Rinoa? It was all up to him. He was the only one who could make this decision.

"Ok, Selphie, I'm coming over to talk to her."

"_No, you're too late, Squall. Rinoa left a while ago. She's gone back to her father's mansion and she said she won't be coming back."_

--

Four hours earlier Elly Caraway had opened the front door of the Caraway Mansion to find her younger sister Rinoa in a terrible state. Rinoa's hair was askew, her clothes were falling out of her suitcase and her eyes were red and tear-stained. Luckily, Elly hadn't panicked. Instead she had hurried Rinoa inside and offered her a tub of chocolate ice cream which had seemed to calm Rinoa down a little bit.

"Men are such pigs!" Rinoa was declaring at that exact moment, "You think they love you and that they're sweet and caring but then they go and do something like _this_ and…"

Elly winced and stroked Rinoa's hair in an attempt to calm her raging and thoroughly devastated sister.

"Ria, honey, why don't you go to your room and get some sleep? It'll help settle you down a little and I'll wake you up when it's time for dinner," Elly suggested gently.

Rinoa nodded and gathered up her things before listlessly progressing up the stairs and out of sight. Elly sighed and lay back on the sofa. She had taken over the maternal role for Rinoa after their mother, Julia, had passed away many years ago. Elly loved Rinoa like a sister and a daughter and it was hard for her to see Rinoa in this condition.

Elly snapped out of her thoughts as the doorbell rang and resounded throughout the mansion. She didn't want to be a burden upon the servants so she always answered the door herself.

She quickly jumped up, strolled to the front door and opened it. Her chocolate coloured eyes fell upon a handsome young man with storm coloured eyes and a sombre expression on his face.

"Can I help you?" she asked, feeling as if she'd seen him before but couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"I'm here to see Rinoa," the young man said shortly as he ran a hand through his brunette hair looking anxious.

Ellone raised an eyebrow. Could this possibly the same man who had treated Rinoa so terribly the night before?

"And who exactly are you?" she enquired.

"Squall Leonhart."

'_Oh, Squall Leonhart,'_ Ellone realised.

So this _was_ the same man who had treated Rinoa so terribly the night before! Ellone realised that Squall looked so familiar because she had seen him in newspaper articles so many times before. He was a movie star, but there was something else about him…something she couldn't quite grasp at that moment.

"Come in, Squall," she said and held the door open for him.

--

Squall couldn't believe that he had finally managed to enter the Caraway Mansion, something that his father had never managed to accomplish before. Now, here he was, at the root of all the trouble that had entered his life. He hated Julia Caraway with a passion and he had a feeling that there was someone else in this house who shared the same feeling, although probably not as strong.

Squall observed the young woman who had invited him inside. She had dark brown hair which was cropped to her ears and soft brown eyes which seemed so kind. She seemed to exude a kind of elegance, grace and warmth that he had never experienced before.

'_She must be Rinoa's sister,'_ he assumed as she passed him a cup of tea and he nodded his thanks.

However, Rinoa's sister didn't resemble Rinoa in appearance at all. Not even in the slightest. Squall was puzzled by this but he realised that not everyone in a family looked alike. Kiros had told him that he resembled Laguna and not his mother, Raine.

"I'm Elisabeth, Rinoa's older sister, but you can call me Elly," the young woman said as Squall sipped his tea, "And for the past few hours I've heard nothing but bad things about you."

"They were all probably true."

Elly gave Squall the ghost of a smile. She was surprised that Squall had so easily accepted his faults.

"Well, Squall, what can I do for you?" Elly asked as she studied his face.

There was something about Squall that was nagging at the corner of Elly's mind. She couldn't quite figure out what it was but she knew that it was something important.

Squall hung his head so that Elly couldn't see his eyes.

"I wanted to see Rinoa," he lied, "I want to apologise for being a jerk and treating her the way I did. I have to see her, please."

Elly's expression softened and she nodded.

"If you really want to make it up to her then I'll get her for you Squall, but don't play around with her. Rinoa's going through a hard time."

Squall nodded in understanding and watched as Elly stood up and disappeared up a set of stairs. As soon as she was out of sight he quickly put his tea aside and jumped up.

Squall knew exactly what he was looking for but he didn't know where to find it. He didn't even know if the thing he was looking for was in the Caraway Mansion at that exact moment. He would have to take his chances and blindly search the entire mansion until he reached his goal.

--

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Zell Dincht cried out as Fujin and Raijin launched their attack on him.

A metre away Seifer Almasy and Irvine Kinneas were silently watching as Zell squirmed and wriggled away from Seifer's posse. Irvine Kinneas was actually 

having a hard time watching Zell getting tortured. He had never wanted to go this far.

"Uh…Seifer, are you sure this is necessary? We might scar him for life or damage his ribs…"

Seifer hadn't taken his eyes off Zell for a while but at Irvine's question he turned to address the anxious man with a sneer.

"Irvine, you're worrying as if we're electrocuting him or something. We're only _tickling_ him after all."

Irvine looked down at the ground sheepishly but decided to keep pushing the subject. After all, nothing said that Seifer was in charge. Irvine had just as much say in this as anyone else.

"Still, Seifer, we can't tickle him forever. If he was going to say something he would've said it by now."

Seifer looked away thoughtfully and decided that Irvine was right. Zell had been under torture of tickling for over two hours and he still hadn't said anything. Then again it was probably difficult to put a sentence together when you were laughing so much. Still, Seifer would have to step things up a little.

"Ok, Fujin, Raijin cease torturing," Seifer ordered his odd companions.

Like obedient puppy dogs, Fujin and Raijin dropped their fingers and stepped back to where Seifer and Irvine were standing.

Seifer strode forward and Irvine did the same so that he wouldn't be forgotten. Seifer glanced back at Raijin and Fujin and nodded.

"Bring in 'Plan B'."

Zell's forehead wrinkled as he watched Raijin and Fujin leave the room. His stomach was still sore from 'Plan A' and yet they were moving onto their next scheme so quickly. Zell realised that Seifer had this planned out exteremely well.

Fujin and Raijin re-entered the room with an object that made Zell's insides squirm in panic.

'_No! How could they know?'_Zell wondered.

Seifer smirked at Zell as if he knew what Zell was thinking. Raijin and Fujin carried the object up to Seifer, who took it into his hands and stood it upright. The object was like an enlarged skateboard but unlike a skateboard it hovered instead 

of using wheels to move around. It was black with a fiery red zigzag running down it; it was Zell's T-board.

"How…?" was all Zell managed to say, not daring to take his eyes off his prized T-board.

"Well, Zell, Irvine and I have the fortune of unlimited access to you and the girl's apartment as two thirds of the girls are our respective girlfriend's."

Zell's voice trembled as he spoke next.

"I don't understand what Quistis Trepe sees in you, Seifer. You're lower than the dirt on my shoes."

Seifer seemed unaffected by Zell's words.

"Ah, you've certainly gained some backbone since our school days, Zell, but you know what? You'll always be a chicken-wuss to me."

Zell's face turned bright red in embarrassment.

"Don't call me CHICKEN-WUSS!"

Seifer laughed nastily and patted Zell's T-board as if it was an old friend of his.

"Zell, let's get to the point, shall we? I seem to remember that, apart from Squall Leonhart, your other companion was your beloved T-board and upon entering your room we easily found it. Tell us what we want to know and we won't harm it but if you fail to do so…" Seifer brandished his gunblade threateningly.

Zell Dincht gulped. He was well aware how extensive a single scratch from a gunblade was to a human being so if that same gunblade even touched his T-board then the damage would be irreversible.

Seifer moved his gunblade closer to Zell's T-board and tapped it menacingly.

"So, what'll it be, chicken-wuss?"

--

Squall looked into the darkened hallway and saw that a light was on in a room at the very end of the second floor. He cautiously crept towards as a predator creeps towards is prey.

Upon reaching the closed door he was certain that someone was inside. Although it was daylight this hallway appeared to be kept in a dark condition so it was strange that a light would be left on to ruin the atmosphere.

Squall gently turned the door nob and pushed the door open. He looked around and breathed a sigh of relief as he spotted the ageing man seated at a large mahogany desk.

The man looked up to acknowledge Squall and kept his features composed as he addressed him.

"Squall Leonhart, I knew you would come to me one day."

* * *

**A/N: **I seem to be repeating myself for the 40th time but I do apologise for the lateness of this chapter as once again my computer crashed. However, I did get a new computer so everything should be stable for a while now.

I really appreciate all of you who appreciate this story. :D Please continue reading and reviewing and I respect everyone's point of view's whether negative or positive.

So...the plot thickens! Squall has reached his goal but this goal of his stretches further than he can see. I hope this chapter makes for an interesting read and the next chapter tells of Julia and Laguna's past. This story will be ending very soon so perhaps 25 will be the last chapter. We shall see because I don't want to rush anything, rather let it all flow.

Thanks for reviewing everyone! :D


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